The Life You Thought You Knew
by AlexJohnD
Summary: What if, one day, you discovered your life wasn't what you thought it was? What if everything had been because of one giant mistake just after you were born? And what if that mistake coming to light changed everything you thought you knew about your own life?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! Welcome to some, and welcome back to others :) Thanks for stopping by.**

 **I think the story description and header and the such make everything pretty obvious, but I just want to thank Ilmazzobro for being an AMAZING Beta reader for me :) Without him this story never would have been published.**

 **Onwards!**

 **...**

The sound of the final bell ringing was music to Hiccup's ears. After six hours cooped up in the stuffy old building he was ready to escape back to the garage at home. He walked briskly through the halls, headed first to his locker to gather the books he would need for homework that night and then to meet up with the usual group of friends he would be walking home with. As he did every day he hoped that today wouldn't be the day that the hole in the bottom of his bag would rip and render his bag useless; he didn't want to spend the time to hunt for a new one. He shoved his books into his bag with a smile at the lack of a ripping sound and had just slammed the locker door when a familiar voice rang through the hall.

"Hiccup, come on!" Astrid called over the scores of people and the near deafening levels of chatter. He spotted her and Fishlegs near the exit and wove his way through his classmates, moving quickly through the crowd with practiced ease. He only had to stop once, and it was when the only boy skinnier than Hiccup passed right in front of him. Hiccup's mind wandered for just a moment upon seeing the boy, trying to place a name to the face. Hiccup was pretty good at remembering names, and he was pretty sure that he was the only person in the grade that Hiccup didn't at least know the name of. He supposed it was because they didn't share a single class together, and the fact that they managed to do that for three years straight was actually quite shocking to Hiccup. He would really have to introduce himself officially to the boy one day soon. And actually, in retrospect, he couldn't think of anyone who was friends with the boy. Hiccup decided that he for sure would have to introduce himself to the boy in the near future. His train of thought was broken, however, when Astrid called, "Hurry up!"

The trio stepped outside together, and Hiccup took a deep breath of the cool April air. The snow had finally finished melting with the help of the recent rain, but today the Canadian air was crisp and there was not a cloud in the sky. The sun shone bright but it offered no heat. They walked in silence for a moment or so before Hiccup piped up to start the conversation, right as they left school property.

"So that kid in our grade that's even skinnier than I am, either of you two know his name?"

"Oh yeah, I think it's Jake or something," Fishlegs contributed, trying to remember if that was right.

"Actually it's Jack," Astrid corrected. "Close though. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Hiccup responded. "Just curious. I don't think I've ever met him."

"He's actually pretty quiet," Fishlegs added. "I don't really think I've ever seen him hanging around with anyone." That sentence confirmed Hiccup's suspicions and solidified the feeling that he would have to find a way to introduce himself to the boy sooner rather than later. But it did raise his curiosity; how could the boy not have any friends at school?

Hiccup thought over the whole situation, wondering why that may be. Perhaps the boy's reputation as a loner was his downfall, making people think he was trouble and staying away? Then again, there were people in the school that had no problem hanging around with trouble. In the end he decided not to dwell on it at the present moment.

"Alright guys, I'll see you tomorrow," Astrid said as she took a sudden left onto her street. She waved goodbye before taking off in a jog, and the boys waved back as they continued their trek.

"So, Hiccup, what do I have to do to get you to play World of Warcraft with me?"

Hiccup laughed, as he always did. This had become nearly a daily question, always asked after Astrid left since Fishlegs knew Astrid's opinions on video games. He simply fended off Fishlegs' questions and pleas with his usual excuses and explanations for another block, until Fishlegs as well was forced to bid him goodbye and turn right.

Now that Hiccup was alone, he picked up the pace. He only had three more blocks to go before his street, and he was really excited to get back to his workshop. Well technically it was a table in the garage where he kept his tools, but it sounded a lot cooler to call it a workshop than a tool bench. Some would call it work, but Hiccup enjoyed tinkering and coming up with new toy ideas for his father's business. It was like a hobby to him. Plus he had come up with an idea earlier that day in class for how to fix the moving parts on an action figure, and he wanted to make sure he got home and fixed it before he forgot what he wanted to do.

Hiccup turned left on the street and glanced up the row of houses. The area that he walked through most of the way home was normally one or two car garage brick homes, but his street was an exception. It stood out like a sore thumb, with the houses made of a brick, stone, and stucco combination and three to four car garages facing the street. He never understood just why the small enclave of wealthier families was located there, but at least he would always be able to know his own street quickly and easily. Hiccup saw his own stone and stucco house approaching, the four car garage looming over the driveway. It was actually perfect, with his mom, dad, and Aster each having a spot for their cars and his workbench having its own.

When Hiccup arrived at the bottom of the patterned concrete driveway he looked over at the front door, but ended up walking up to the garage door instead. He didn't really have a need to toss his bag inside and the sound of the garage door opening would alert his mother that he was home. He punched the numbers to open the proper door into the keypad to the right of the fourth garage door, and as the door slowly lifted he glanced to his right.

At the intersection six houses down, along the main road Hiccup had just used to walk home from school, Hiccup spotted the route 6 bus pulling up to the stop. The bus came straight from his school, but Hiccup never took it. He was determined to make sure that even though he had a prosthetic it wouldn't change his life dramatically. Astrid and Fishlegs had tried insisting and offered to take the bus with him, but Hiccup just wouldn't do it. He didn't feel like he needed to, and the he didn't feel like the walk put any additional strain on his leg since it really wasn't that long. He would only use it on days when his leg caused him a lot of pain.

Turning back to the now fully opened garage, he stepped inside and took a deep breath. He had become accustomed to the smell of rubber and gasoline fumes, and it had become something of a comfort for him. Hiccup placed his bag on the ground next to his workstation and got out the tools he needed. He found the action figure he was looking for already on his desk, and he got to work instantly. He used the smallest screwdriver he had to open the back of the toy and had only just started messing with the internal mechanisms when he heard the door that led directly into the house from the garage open and close.

"Hiccup my boy! You're home!"

"Hey dad," Hiccup responded without even looking up. He could recognize that jolly voice and thick Russian accent from a kilometre away, which is probably how far the man's voice could carry. Hiccup always laughed to himself wondering how no one in the house had gone deaf from how loud the man's voice was. "I got home a few minutes ago."

"And you didn't even come in to say hello?"

"I had an idea to improve this action figure and I didn't want to lose it," Hiccup explained as his father walked closer to him.

"Oh?" North asked with a legitimate sense of curiosity. "And what is that?" Hiccup entered into a two minute long explanation that was highly technical, and his father followed along with every word, every motion of his hand, and every change he suggested. "That's brilliant!" North exclaimed after Hiccup was finished. "I'm so proud of you! I'd better watch out, you might get better than me at this soon!"

"No, I'm not that good," Hiccup retorted.

"Don't demean yourself Hiccup," North scolded gently while smiling. "You are very good and I am very proud. You have learned well."

"Maybe," Hiccup conceded. "But you'll always be the master of coming up with the toy ideas."

"This is true," North laughed. "Do you remember your last idea for toy? It…"

"That's enough," Hiccup interrupted rather loudly, a small blush forming from the embarrassment of the memory. He did not need to be reminded of that embarrassing failure. He was pretty sure that being covered in paint and several bruises for over a week was sufficient enough punishment to not need to be reminded about it. North continued to chuckle as he sat down at his own workbench next to Hiccup's and pulled out something of his own to work on.

"So, Hiccup, I haven't asked yet, how was school today?"

"It was alright. Crunch time before exams, you know. Crushing loads of schoolwork, love it."

"And yet somehow you have time to work on this?" North asked, smirking once more and cocking an eyebrow.

"This is different. This is my relaxation time."

"Work is relaxing? What a work ethic!"

"Well this work is relaxing," Hiccup clarified. "It's interesting. It's fun."

"But, as you said, exams are soon! Summer is coming. What do you want to do then, when summer finally comes, hm?"

"Dunno. I haven't really thought that far ahead," Hiccup admitted, followed by a quick, "Aha!" before he returned the back covering onto the action figure. "Now if this worked properly, his motions should be smoother than before."

North set down what he was doing to watch Hiccup place the toy upright and push the button that made it move. Sure enough, the motions were smoother and actually quieter as well.

"Well done Hiccup!" the man yelled as he picked up his son and swung him around. Hiccup couldn't help but laugh, struggling to keep his balance when he was finally released from his father's massive arms. It was a miracle he hadn't been crushed by the man yet. How was his father so well built but he himself was so skinny? Clearly genetics hadn't been fair to him; Aster must've gotten all the good genes affecting stature in the family. But then again, Aster wasn't even close to that large either. Perhaps cookies played more of a roll in North's size than Hiccup had originally suspected, even if he was eating fewer of them than he had been before.

"Everything ok out here?" came a voice from the house once more. With the deafening sound of North's voice just moments earlier Hiccup barely heard it, but his mother's voice always found its way through. When the boys looked over they found Toothiana standing in the door with a confused look on her face. "I thought I heard yelling out here."

"Everything's fine mom," Hiccup laughed, bringing a smile to her face. "How were things at the office today? Did you get mad at any more kids for not flossing? Scare any kids with those nasty fake teeth?"

"Of course," North responded. "Have you met your mother? That's her favourite part of her job!" Hiccup and North both laughed as Toothiana put her hands on her hips with a slight frown.

"Nicholas Saint-North I will give you a root canal if you don't smarten up," Toothiana scolded. That silenced North instantly and Hiccup attempted to hold his remaining chuckles in. "Now finish up in here, dinner is in twenty minutes."

"What are we having?" Hiccup asked as he reached for his bag and started making his way inside.

"Fish. Pan fried Haddock to be specific. Your favourite," Toothiana smiled. Hiccup smiled and doubled his pace, sprinting up the stairs to get ready for dinner and to make sure Toothless wouldn't be jumping on the table when he smelled the fish again. They all loved the cat, but there were times when he pushed his luck. North and Toothiana only smiled and shook their heads at his enthusiasm.

...

Hiccup walked out of his room, freshly changed out of his school clothes. He shut the door to make sure Toothless couldn't make it to the kitchen, and he knew he would have to make it up to the cat later. He was headed downstairs to set the table, but at the top of the stairs he was forced to stop when Aster blocked his path.

"What's up shorty?" Aster cracked in his Australian accent. He did a year of high school there and even now in his third year of university he still hadn't dropped the accent. Oddly enough it seemed to fit him though, at least in Hiccup's opinion.

"Not much old man. Your hair get even greyer?" Hiccup retorted with practiced ease. While to an outsider their verbal shots may have seemed offensive or insulting in nature, the siblings knew it was just playful banter. It had gotten to a point where if one of them didn't insult the other at least once a day it meant that something was probably wrong.

"At least my hair isn't my only good physical quality."

"At least I don't have to rely on physical qualities to find something good about myself."

"At least I'm not adopted."

"You sure? I'm not sure someone with an ugly mug like yours has this family's genetics."

When no response came to mind quickly Aster wrapped his arms around his brother's shoulders and placed him in a headlock, causing both of them to burst into laughter. After a thorough noogie the pair headed downstairs, making their way into the kitchen to set the table. It was just like every day: Hiccup got the plates, Aster got the cutlery.

"So Bunny," Hiccup started before Aster interrupted.

"Hiccup come on you know I don't like that name."

"Oh come on, it's not that bad! And it makes sense since you want to be a vet and the first animal you helped was a bunny. Plus you do have abnormally large ears." Hiccup smiled at the last line, but the look on Aster's face told Hiccup to drop it.

Aster was the only one in the family that didn't go by their nickname more than their real one, which was odd because Hiccup definitely had it worst. He supposed he just hadn't been forceful enough in telling people not to use it. Hiccup got his because he had a major case of the hiccups when he was brought home from the hospital, but everyone else had a cool or normal reason for theirs: North had been to the North Pole (plus it was his last name), Toothiana was a dentist, and Sandy always looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"Anyways, how were classes today?" Hiccup finally asked.

"Classes were fine. It was just the bloody train. They only run eight of those things a day, you think they could run on time at least! Got delayed half an hour and my mate missed his bus connection because of it."

"Stupid transit in this city; remind me not to go to university downtown."

"Assuming you get into university," Aster retorted with a wink. Hiccup was racking his brain for a comeback but before he could say anything, Sandy walked into the room.

"Hey Sandy, how was work?" Hiccup asked aloud while simultaneously signing the same words. Sandy was only mute, not deaf, but Hiccup found it had helped him learn ASL to sign what he said as well as say it. Even after he had become fluent he had never dropped the habit.

 _'Good thanks. Only three people asked me what a Somnologist was.'_ Sandy signed with a silent laugh at the end. He took his place at the table and as if on cue, Toothiana walked into the room with dinner on a platter. North walked in just a moment later.

"Sandy, brother! I haven't seen you all day! How are you?" North boomed as he wrapped the much smaller man in a mildly awkward hug. Sandy simply laughed silently and gave a small thumbs up. At this rate North was going to make Sandy deaf.

"Alright everyone, dig in," Toothiana beckoned as she set the platter down and took her own place at the table. Almost instantly the table was filled with the sound of cutlery scraping on plates and chatter among family while the air filled with the scent of the warm meal. As Hiccup put a bite of fish in his mouth and withdrew from the conversation just momentarily, he took the opportunity to look around the table at all of his family members. He definitely appreciated just how lucky he was to have such an amazing family unit, and he knew he wouldn't change it for the world.

 **...**

 **And that's Chapter 1! There are many more to come so please follow/favourite to see more! And as always I truly appreciate reviews :) If you don't like this story, feel free to not follow/fave and go throw rotten fruit at Ilmazzobro XD**

 **Remember, to me no reviews = no readers = don't bother continuing!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again lovely readers! My apologies for the delay in this chapter, especially to those that I told I would aim for one week between chapters. Life sort of took over. I have an online course (which I just bombed a test for), my cousin is getting married and my bf is moving. Sorry, I won't bother you with any more excuses. Onward!**

 _"Finally,"_ Jack thought to himself as the final bell of the day rang, freeing him from the soul sucking boredom that was class at BHS. This was perhaps the worst semester he had ever had in terms of courses, and every day he was confined within the building's walls doomed to assignments, homework, and lectures was an uphill battle. At least he only had a month to go until exams, and then summer would finally be here. Maybe then he would finally not have to constantly deal with stress keeping him up at night from his workload.

Finally breaking through the mob of students clamouring to get out of last period English, Jack made his way to his locker which was fortunately quite close to the classroom. He quickly exchanged books, taking the ones he'd need for homework that night and leaving the rest behind, before slamming his locker door and heading for the main exit. He hoped that today wouldn't be the day that the thinning material at the bottom of his bag split, spilling his books and forcing him to spend time and money on getting a new bag. He also hoped the route 6 bus was delayed just a few minutes so he would be able to catch the first one. Otherwise he would have to wait thirty minutes and, especially after the day he had just had, he just wasn't in the mood for walking the twenty minutes it would take him to get home.

As he walked through the halls he searched his pockets for his headphones, nearly not realizing that he had almost bumped into someone. He saw them come to a stop out of the corner of his eye, feeling slightly bad for forcing them to break their stride on his account, and he didn't even need to fully look to know who it was. While he didn't know the boy's name, he had started mentally calling him "the fishbone kid" in his own head because of how skinny the boy was. Granted Jack was fairly skinny himself but to him, that was beside the point. He would have muttered an apology but before he even had the chance the kid had gone around him to meet up with whoever he was waving to. Besides, the boy would probably forget about this by tomorrow as many people forgot about Jack anyways. He was willing to bet the fishbone kid didn't even know his name.

Putting the thought behind him and moving on, Jack finally found his headphones and began the lengthy task of untangling them as he walked. They had literally been sitting in his front pocket, untouched since he'd placed them in there perfectly wrapped, and yet somehow they always managed to tangle themselves. Jack could never understand why, but he decided that if he ever got rich he would invent an idea to stop them from getting tangled. It took him the whole three minute walk to get them perfect, and he managed to push play on his phone's music player right as he arrived at the bus stop. He glanced down the street and saw the bus way off in the distance, about three or four street lights away down the flat, straight street. It was even later than usual, but Jack was fine with that. He'd rather wait the extra three minutes than the whole thirty anyway.

Jack took in a deep breath of cool air, enjoying the fact that the cool breezes off the lake made it this far into the city. It made the air refreshing, along with the cool bite that it still had. He was sad that winter was coming to an end; he was not looking forward to what would probably be a sweltering summer. In his opinion they had way too many days over thirty degrees last year, and from what the news was reporting this year wasn't going to be any better. He much preferred the cold, and it almost seemed like it didn't bother him as much as it did others. The few times a year he managed to go skiing he went in nothing heavier than a hoodie, while everyone else would be wearing ski jackets and giving him odd looks. Even today he was only dressed in jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt, while those around him still donned jackets and toques. One person even still wore mittens and a scarf.

The bus pulled up a few minutes later and Jack flashed his monthly pass to get on. The bus driver barely even looked at it, and sometimes Jack wondered why he even bothered to buy a new one each month. The design was always the same so he could probably get away with using the same one. The only difference was the month printed on it, but the print wasn't even that large. He supposed it was his conscience preventing him from doing something like that, although the thought of saving an extra hundred dollars a month did appeal to Jack. But, as always, his moral compass won out. Jack grabbed a seat near the back and next to a window, and as he sat there he found his feet slowly starting to tap to the beat of the rock music in his earbuds. The bus lurched a little as it took off but he maintained his posture with practiced ease, and Jack started counting the stops until home.

The bus moved slowly along the main street, stopping at every intersection and sometimes in between, but it was still faster than walking by a few minutes. It was when Jack saw his street through the front window that he pulled the thin yellow cord to request the stop. It wasn't actually his street he saw, but the street on the opposite side of the main road. For some reason an enclave of wealthy families had formed there, and those houses could almost always be easily spotted from a distance. For Jack they served as an occasionally useful landmark. He stood up as the female robotic voice announced, "Stop requested," making his way to the doors and waiting for the green light to signal that they had been unlocked by the driver.

The bus pulled off to the side of the street, and Jack exited through the back doors. He only needed to walk three houses down the street before his stoic expression cracked into a smile, right in front of the Bennett residence. He thought he had heard the laughter and yelling of Jamie and Sophie back when the bus doors opened, but he hadn't been sure because of the music. But now, as they spotted him, he removed his headphones and widened his smile.

"Jack, Jack!" the siblings screamed happily, dropping their chalk and running up to give their occasional baby sitter a hug.

"Hey guys! How're you doing? No school today?" Jack asked, kneeling down and hugging them back. He ruffled their hair, making Sophie squeal as she tried to shake it out of her face and Jamie laugh.

"No, we had dentist appointments today. Jamie got a cavity," Sophie supplied.

"Jamie, have you been sneaking candy again?" Jack asked, scolding with a mischievous smile that really did nothing but encourage the boy futher.

"Maybe," Jamie said, looking down in fake guilt.

"Well at least you were honest," Jack said, slyly handing Jamie one of the small gummy candies he always kept in his bag. He always kept a small stash in there which came in useful if he needed a burst of sugar or when he wanted to give one to one of the Bennett kids. Jamie smiled and ate the candy, giving Jack another quick hug.

"Jack, come play with us," Sophie said, bouncing up and down while grabbing another piece of chalk. She brought Jack a white one since they were out of Jack's favourite blue.

"Oh, sorry Soph, but I don't think I can," Jack said, brushing chalk dust off of his pants from where he had kneeled on one of their drawings. Judging by the fact it was a giant flower, he was going to assume it was Sophie's.

"Aww, why not?" both children asked in unison.

"Because I'm afraid playtime is done," Mrs. Bennett piped up, standing on the front walkway. "You two promised to clean your rooms today and it's time to get to it."

"Aww mom," Jamie and Sophie complained, once again in unison, but they obeyed without question after dropping the chalk back in its box.

"And don't forget to wash the chalk off your hands first," she called after them before turning to Jack. "So, Jack, how are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks Mrs. Bennett," Jack smiled. Mrs. Bennett was one of the few adults that Jack didn't mind speaking to, since she treated him more like an adult than a reckless teenager. He wasn't sure if it was because she knew he was mature enough to watch over her kids every now and again, but he didn't really care.

"That's good to hear. Exams are coming up soon, aren't they?"

"In about a month yeah," Jack said as he readjusted his backpack on his back. The mention of exams seemed to create the illusion of added weight on his back, and Jack really didn't appreciate that at the moment. Exams were the last thing he wanted to think about right now.

"Jack, I was wondering, would you be able to babysit next week? On Tuesday?"

"Of course!" Jack said with a smile. That definitely picked up his mood, and he almost immediately started to plan his night with the Bennett children.

"Oh Jack thank you so much! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make sure they are actually cleaning their rooms and not just playing with whatever toys they had on the floor. See you Tuesday!"

"Alright, bye Mrs. Bennett," Jack said as he continued on his way home. He didn't have far to walk, just another thirty seconds or so to the house five over from the Bennett's.

When Jack reached the bottom of his driveway, he paused. He glanced up at the house, taking in the red brick, single car garage home that he lived in with his parents. It was small, but it was enough for the three of them. He noted the lack of a car in the driveway, indicating that his father was still at work. That wasn't exactly out of the ordinary for this time of day, but Jack would wager a guess that the man wouldn't even be home for dinner. In the end he was left to wonder if his mother was home, seeing as she didn't have a car.

"Hello?" Jack called as he walked in the front door, dropping his bag at the bottom of the stairs to the second level.

"Hi Jack!" Valka called, her voice coming from the kitchen at the rear of the house. Jack walked into the room and found her chopping some vegetables, from the distance it looked like carrots and potatoes, most likely for some kind of soup or something. "How was your day?"

"Fine. What's for dinner?"

"I'm making stew. Should be ready around seven."

"Alright," was all Jack said before he took his exit, grabbed his bag, and made his way into the family room. He wasn't particularly in the mood for talking at the moment. He plopped himself down on the couch, flipped on the television, and cracked open his math book. It was nearly four o'clock now, and he was determined to have all of his homework done before dinner. For once he might actually have some free time.

...

It was seven o'clock on the dot when Valka and Jack spoke once again, and it was to indicate that dinner was ready. Jack turned off the television and threw his books bag into his bag. He had finished his homework about fifteen minutes prior but he hadn't bothered to put his books away; he had been too busy patting himself on the back for finally earning himself some free time.

Wordlessly Jack entered the kitchen and set the table as his mother brought the pot over to the table. They sat down and started to eat wordlessly, leaving a deafening silence in the air around them. The only sound around them for the first few minutes was the soft banging of cutlery on bowls. It was Valka who broke the silence.

"So, anything new? Anything interesting happen at school?"

"Not really. Did dad say when he'd be home?"

"No, he didn't. Why, did you need to talk to him about something?"

"Just wondering."

"I swear that man is going to work himself to death," Valka half said and half muttered. After that not a word was said, and when Jack finished eating he deposited his dishes by the sink and left. He didn't mean to come off as cold to his mother, but he really was not interested in talking today. Or most other days. This whole semester had pretty much been one solid bad mood for Jack. He returned to the family room where he flipped on the television, leaning back and getting comfortable on the couch. Not thirty seconds later the front door swung open and hit the stopper that prevented it from damaging the wall.

"Oops," Jack heard his father mutter as he closed the door gently behind him. Well, at least as gently as the man could handle. He listened in as Stoick dropped his suitcase under the table near the door and headed towards the kitchen, becoming more and more alert as the footsteps got closer.

 _"I wonder if he'll even say hello,"_ Jack thought, even though indifference laced his thoughts.

"Hello Jack. How was your day?" Stoick asked as he stopped at the arch into the family room. Why the man had a mild Scottish accent when he wasn't Scottish would forever confuse Jack, but he had stopped letting it bother him a long time ago.

"Fine. Exams are coming so there's that." Jack answered for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. As he answered his eyes never left the television screen.

"Anything interesting happen?"

"No."

With nothing remaining to say or ask from Stoick's end and a sense of nonchalance forming from Jack's, Stoick left and continued into the kitchen. Normally Jack had no problem with his father, but as of late things had been going south. His father had been coming home later, brushing him off, and generally just not being there. Today he had actually been a little better than normal, seeing as Stoick had actually initiated the "conversation". He knew the whole situation was probably just the stress of the upcoming election since this happened every four years, but Jack didn't care; to him that wasn't an excuse. He turned down the television just a little, listening in to see what was going to transpire in the kitchen.

"So, how was your day?" Valka asked over the sound of dishes clanging, most likely Stoick getting some food for dinner.

"Fine. Busy with the campaign as always. Plus I have my work at city hall to do."

"I know. But have you given any more consideration to the second car?"

"Ugh, now is really not the time for that Valka."

"I know you're busy but I can't keep doing grocery runs on the bus!"

At that point, Jack zoned out. This was nothing he hadn't already heard, and he had no interest in listening to his parents repeat themselves. Their continued conversation was a slight nuisance as he tried to listen to the television, and it only took him three minutes before he gave up. Grabbing his bag he made his way up the stairs and to his room, turning on his laptop.

As he waited for the machine to boot he checked his phone. As per usual there were no voice mails, no missed calls, and no texts. No one ever really texted the brunet since he didn't have many friends, but he was in a couple group projects and there was potential that one of them had messaged him about the projects.

When his laptop was ready, Jack immediately opened the internet and let himself be sucked in by its silent allure. Normally it was a regular ritual for the teen, logging on every night and only logging off when his body told him that he needed to crash, but with the school work he'd had recently this was more of a special treat than a constant. It only made his few opportunities to log on even more precious. He may not have had many (or any) true friends in real life, but at least he had his Tumblr followers.

 **Are you following Jack on Tumblr? Heck, are you following me!? XD But either way, if you answered 'no' to either of these questions, you should leave a review ;)**

 **PS I am still wondering if anyone wants to make cover art for this story! Check out the story description and let me know if you're interested!**


	3. Chapter 3

Hiccup exhaled as he gently closed his locker, books in hand and route planned. He had to get to physics on the other end of the building, and he only had three minutes before he would be late. Today he was determined to make it on time. Fortunately the physics teacher liked him enough to not always send him to the office for a late slip or he would have had many, many detentions, but he couldn't just bank on being let in late.

Hiccup had only taken three steps away from his locker when he bumped into something solid, and he only barely managed to catch himself before he fell flat on his butt. He looked up to see what he had hit, and just before an apology could slip past his lips he saw it was none other than Snotlout and his crony Tuffnut. The apology immediately died on his lips.

"Why don't you watch where you're going nerd?" Snotlout demanded with a sneer.

"Need to get your eyes checked?" Tuffnut cracked.

"No, I have 20-20 vision," Hiccup replied to Tuffnut, electing to ignore Snotlout. He attempted to walk around the pair, but Snotlout slammed his hand against the locker and blocked Hiccup's path. Tuffnut immediately moved to his side, blocking him from moving any direction other than backwards. "Do you mind? I need to get to the other end of the building within two minutes."

"I think you owe me an apology first," Snotlout demanded. Hiccup paused and took a moment to look around. The bang of Snotlout hitting the lockers had apparently been loud enough to attract the attention of nearby students, many of whom were now watching the potential altercation. Hiccup saw many blank faces he couldn't recognize, but his eyes did immediately snap to a face he had seen a few times before: Jack. He wondered why that face had been the one to stick out to him, but he was torn from his thoughts when Snotlout added a quick, "Well?"

"Alright, I'm sorry," Hiccup apologized, assuring he laced his voice with just enough sarcasm that anyone listening could hear it except for Snotlout. He'd probably pick up on the sarcasm later, but by then Hiccup would be long gone.

"That's better," Snotlout smiled, removing his hand from the lockers. He started to move and Hiccup thought that he would finally be able to leave in peace, but he was proven wrong when Snotlout pulled a quick 180 and knocked Hiccup's books out of his hand.

Hiccup scoffed as Snotlout started to walk away. When Hiccup glanced up he caught Tuffnut smile and wink at him, but as always he chose to ignore it. He didn't know if it was some sort of joke that only Tuffnut understood or if there was a legitimate interest there, but he never allowed himself the time to ponder it. He looked back down at his books, and right below his face he was greeted by a foreign hand giving him a few sheets of paper. They must've flown out of his books when they fell. He followed the arm along until he discovered it was attached to Jack, who handed over the papers with a small, slightly awkward smile.

"Hey, thanks. Jack, right?" Hiccup asked, stuffing the papers back into his books. He'd organize them later.

"Uh, yeah, actually. I'm sorry, I don't actually know your name," Jack replied, slightly ashamed at himself.

"That's alright, I only know yours because my friend told me. I'm Hiccup."

"Nice to meet you."

"You too."

They sat there in silence, the only change being that they moved from a crouched position to upright. It slowly became awkward between the two, eyes drifting away from each other, but they were snapped out of it when the bell rang.

"Oh shoot, I gotta run," Hiccup said, taking off towards physics. He threw a quick, "See you later," as he ran off, to which Jack responded with a small wave.

 _'Well that was sufficiently awkward,'_ Jack thought to himself as he walked towards his art class. He couldn't help but wonder if Hiccup had actually meant the "see you later" part.

...

Fortunately even though Hiccup had been late to physics the teacher had just let him in. Apparently most of the class had been late anyways and he hadn't even started to lecture yet. But even as he took out his notes and started to write, he realized he wasn't really paying attention. His mind kept wandering, yet no matter where it went, it always ended up back on Jack.

Hiccup realized he had never really seen Jack hanging around with anyone. Correction, he had noticed that at every lunch they had scheduled at the same time Jack had always sat alone. He never seemed to be part of a bigger group and he would have sworn that he always saw Jack waiting alone at the bus stop rather than going home with friends. Plus it seemed like the minute school was over his headphones went in and he became oblivious to the outside world.

"Hiccup, what was the answer to number three?" was the question that brought Hiccup back to reality.

A quick shake of his head, a glance at his notebook, and he responded, "3x," before zoning out again.

Hiccup didn't know why, but for some reason Jack was front and centre in his thoughts right now. Was it because he had been so nice to him earlier? He felt kind of bad for never acting on his observations before, but then again it really wasn't his place to meddle in Jack's life. If he had wanted friends he would've tried to make them, right?

When the teacher moved on from the homework and into the day's lesson, Hiccup decided he should probably pay attention again, but he had also decided that he would be inviting Jack to sit with Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and himself at lunch next period.

...

Hiccup met Astrid and Fishlegs in the cafeteria exactly three minutes after the lunch bell had rung. He only needed to look around the noisy room for a few seconds before he spotted Astrid waving at him, calling his name. Of course he couldn't hear her, there was too much other noise, but fortunately the vocal beckoning was not necessary.

He sat down and rested his lunch bag on the table, but immediately this attention turned towards the entrance to the lunch room and the exit of the cafeteria area where students could buy their lunches. Fortunately they were side by side so Hiccup didn't have to keep turning his head, but the fact that he was currently ignoring his lunch served to confuse both Astrid and Fishlegs. Fishlegs was about to ask, but Ruffnut beat him to it when she sat herself down next to Astrid.

"Uh, Hiccup? What are you looking at?"

"Not a what. A who," Hiccup responded without turning around to face them. The fact that the three of them even heard him was a miracle in and of itself.

"Oooh, Hiccup, got the hots for someone?" Ruffnut asked with a wink as Astrid and Fishlegs snickered.

"What? Oh, no! That came out wrong!" Hiccup insisted, but the trio just burst into laughter, and Hiccup elected to ignore them. He returned his attention back to the doors not a moment too soon, immediately seeing Jack exit the kitchen with a lunch on the tray in his hands. He appeared to be looking around to find a table, and Hiccup immediately stood up and waved. Apparently, however, Jack hadn't seen him. He started to walk a different direction.

 _"No, no, no,"_ Hiccup thought to himself as he took off in a power walk towards the teen. "Jack! JACK!"

Jack stopped at the second call, turning around to find Hiccup charging at him. He took a half step back but remained stoic as Hiccup stopped right in front of him.

"Hey Jack, what're you up to?" Hiccup asked, almost immediately mentally facepalming.

"Um, looking for a place to eat lunch?" Jack asked, lifting his tray ever so slightly. He cocked an eyebrow for a split second, but it almost immediately lowered. Hiccup decided to ignore the eyebrow movement because Jack had just given him the perfect set up.

"Oh, well, we have some extra space over at our table. Come join us!"

"Oh, I, uh, I wouldn't want to intrude," Jack said, starting to turn the other way.

"Nonsense," Hiccup said, stopping Jack and tugging slightly on the sleeve of his blue hoodie. He didn't pull too hard, not wanting to damage the sweater or make Jack uncomfortable, but he pulled just hard enough to give Jack the general direction to follow. Jack, not having anywhere better to sit, followed.

Hiccup inwardly smiled at himself when Jack sat down next to him, placing his tray on the table before sitting down himself. He allowed Jack a second to get settled in before he started with the introductions.

"Everyone, this is Jack. Jack, this is Fishlegs, Astrid, and Ruffnut."

"Hey," the latter three responded in unison before refocusing their attention on their lunches. Hiccup wanted to glare at all of them, but as they were looking down none of them would have noticed anyways. On top of that, Jack actually surprised Hiccup by talking first.

"So, how do you guys know each other?" Jack asked as he took a bite of his own sandwich. While he still wasn't really in a talkative mood, he figured it was better than awkward silence consuming the table.

"Hiccup and I have been friends for years. We met in elementary school," Fishlegs supplied between bites. "We bonded over a mutual love of dragons."

Hiccup noticed a smile cross Jack's face when Fishlegs said that, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. He would have to ask Jack about that later.

"Hiccup and I met here in high school. I saved his butt from Snotlout and Tuffnut on the first day when he accidentally used a little too much sarcasm against Snotlout. Some days I still don't think he's learned his lesson." Astrid smiled at the memory and Jack smirked towards Hiccup, clearly recalling the events from earlier. Jack remained silent once more and looked over to Ruffnut, who was still in the process of stuffing her face.

"Ughi brmt…"

"I introduced Ruffnut to these two," Astrid interrupted, mostly to stop Ruffnut from talking with her mouth full and spraying partially chewed food across the table. "We met on the volleyball team in grade 9." Ruffnut simply nodded as she continued to chew.

"Hey Jack, your last name is Haddock, right?" Fishlegs asked, putting his sandwich down.

"Uh, yeah," Jack responded, slightly embarrassed by his own family name. It was so weird; he was part of the only family quite possibly in the world that shared a surname with a breed of fish. He didn't have much time to stew on it as Fishlegs continued.

"So your dad is running for re-election right?" Jack didn't particularly want to talk about his father's work right now, especially since it was controlling his life, but he didn't want to be rude to Fishlegs.

"Yeah, he is. He's really busy right now," Jack offered with more than just a hint of bitterness in his voice. When he spoke about his father recently he couldn't help but feel like a clamp was closing down on him, making him angrier and angrier that the man wasn't there as much as he thought he should be. It was bad enough during the years between elections, but election years were intolerable.

"What's his stance on public transit in this city?" Fishlegs asked, clearly not picking up on Jack's disdain.

"Um, I don't really know actually. I haven't paid too much attention since we can't vote."

"Oh, that's alright," Fishlegs said. "I was just curious. I'll google it later."

"Wait, Haddock? What is your family's background? Like your ethnic origin?" Astrid asked, perplexed by the last name. She hadn't known Jack's last name before now, and now she was curious.

"Norwegian on both sides," Jack responded, finally taking another bite of his sandwich.

"Really? Norwegian? I didn't have you pegged as Norwegian. Actually I always had Hiccup here pegged as Norwegian but boy was I off when I learned the truth."

"Why? Hiccup, what's your background?"

"I'm a mix. Some Russian, some American, and a very little bit of Southeast Asian. That last part doesn't really show though."

"You know," Ruffnut piped in, "I would have had Jack pegged more as the Russian American mix than Hiccup."

"Yeah, me too," Astrid commented off-handedly.

Jack and Hiccup looked at each other and chuckled, shrugging as the laughs faded out.

"Well, I guess we look like we belong in each other's family," Hiccup joked.

"Genetics can be so weird sometimes," Jack nodded.

"So, Jack, what TV shows are you into?" Hiccup asked, effectively changing the subject.

 **...**

 **I DO NOT REGRET THE TUFFCUP REFERENCE HAHAHAHA :3**

 **For those of you banging your heads against the keyboard at the moment I know why and I promise that it won't be much longer XD Only a few more chapters until the big reveal.**

 **That review box looks lonely...why not put in a few words to keep it company?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Onward to Chapter 4! Heads up, this chapter has both Jack's and Hiccup's POV**

 **...**

HICCUP

The last two classes of the day flew by, and Hiccup was at his locker gathering his books sooner than it felt like he should be. Not that he was complaining though, in fact it was quite the contrary. He was ecstatic that the day was over and that he would finally be able to rest and relax at his workbench back home.

The moment Hiccup turned away from his locker and took a step, he felt a sharp shooting pain up his leg. Hiding it with practiced ease, he bent down to get a closer look at the prosthetic. Everything was still in place and nothing looked broken, so he assumed it was just the leg itself acting up. Damp days tended to have that effect. Inwardly sighing he took off towards the main doors. He would have to take the bus today.

He passed Astrid in the hall, but she was too busy running to volleyball practice to really notice him. Hiccup never understood why the team practiced after the playoffs, not all of them would even still be at the school next year, but at least they got to keep playing the game they loved he supposed. He also kept his eyes open for Fishlegs for just a few minutes before remembering that he had been pulled out of class early that day for a doctor's appointment. Hiccup was on his own to get home, so he had even less hesitation to use the bus. The walk home wasn't too bad with friends to talk to most of the way, but alone it was downright boring.

Hiccup sauntered his way to the bus stop, joining the others already waiting there. He estimated that there were at least fifty other students standing on the slab of concrete next to the orange sign marking the bus stop, and they spilled over onto the sidewalk and obstructed pedestrian traffic passing through.

A bus arrived two minutes later, but it was the 301. The city ran school buses from most of the high schools to popular destinations at the end of the day, but the route from BHS didn't go anywhere big so it wasn't very popular. Hiccup hadn't been surprised to learn that they were cancelling the route as of next week. It probably would have been more popular if it had at least crossed the river to the west. The students that lived there had to transfer to get home or face a 45 minute walk. When the bus was finished loading it took off, only having taken about three people. As Hiccup took a better look at the remaining students, he noticed Jack a few steps in front of him.

"Hey Jack," Hiccup greeted, tapping the boy on the shoulder. He felt a little bad when Jack proceeded to pull the headphones out of his ears, seeing as he hadn't even noticed Jack had been wearing them, but he didn't feel as bad when a smile graced Jack's face upon recognizing Hiccup.

"Oh, hey Hiccup. Sorry, you just missed the 301."

"Oh, that's alright, I'm actually taking the six."

"Do you normally take the six?" Jack asked, curious. "I've never noticed you on it before."

"No, not really. Normally I walk but my leg is acting up today."

"Is it ok? Did you sprain something?" Jack asked, mild concern present in his voice.

"Well you could say that," Hiccup joked as he pulled up his pant leg just a little. He always wore pants to cover the prosthetic so really only the students who were in his ninth grade gym class years ago really knew about it, and even then many just assumed Hiccup was a little slower at everything physically.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Jack emphatically apologized.

"That's alright," Hiccup laughed. He wasn't as self-conscious about it as he used to be, and if it came up he had no problem telling people about it. "It happened so long ago sometimes I forget I even have it. It's just normal to me."

"How long have you had it?" Jack asked.

"About ten years. When I was six a dog mauled my leg. It was a really big one, but I don't remember the exact breed. The damage was so bad that it would never heal properly, so they amputated to prevent any future problems." Jack hadn't expected to receive the whole story, but he would have lied if he had said that he wasn't at least curious. He was about to say something, an apology perhaps, but seeing as it was so long ago it just didn't seem right.

Just then the bus pulled up and Jack stepped aside to let Hiccup on first. Hiccup just looked at him and shook his head as he smirked, but he boarded the bus nonetheless, tapped his fare card, and headed straight for the back of the bus. His leg may be acting up but he could still make it to the back of the bus to sit down. Jack took the seat directly across the aisle from Hiccup, and Hiccup took the opportunity to continue the conversation.

"So have you picked your courses for next year?" Hiccup asked, jerking as the bus started to move. His hand subconsciously moved to his backpack, preventing it from slipping off of his lap. They had received the sheets to fill out a little over a week ago, and while Hiccup had filled his out already, he had failed to hand it in yet. These were his grade twelve electives, the courses that would determine what university programs he would be able to choose. These choices were his whole future, and he wanted to make sure he was making the right choices.

"Yeah, I handed in my sheet a while back. I picked world issues, phys ed, data management, philosophy, accounting, and of course English. What did you pick?"

"Whoa, that's an odd mix," Hiccup commented, Jack's question momentarily forgotten. "What are you trying to get into in university?"

"I want to go into concurrent ed. I think my father is a little upset I don't want to go into poli sci but I'm just not interested in politics. Haven't decided where yet, but the only requirements anywhere are English so I just took a mixture of everything. I guess I figured it would help me pick my future teachables. Didn't really think through the fact that I want to teach elementary school though when I picked these courses. I mean what is a third grader going to do with accounting?" Jack paused for a moment to chuckle, and Hiccup felt the corners of his mouth tugging upwards as well. "So what do you want to go into?"

"I'm not sure," Hiccup sighed. "I mean I think I want to go into engineering but I just, I just don't know. I don't know how they can expect us to know what we want to do with our future at such a young age. You're lucky because clearly you already know, and I feel like I know, but I just can't push myself to lock it in."

"Well what courses did you pick?"

"Other than English? Calculus, Advanced Functions, Physics, Chemistry, and Computer Science."

"That sounds like an awful year," Jack stated bluntly, inwardly cringing as he heard the list of difficult courses.

"I think it'll be alright. I'm decent at most of those courses, and pretty much all of them are required courses for entry."

"Ouch. Do you have any idea which branch of engineering you want to go into?" Jack asked as he pulled the yellow cord to request the next stop. Hiccup hadn't realized just how far they had gone so quickly, and if it weren't for Jack he may very well have completely stopped paying attention. What surprised him, however, was that they were getting off at the same stop. He'd ask Jack after they got off the bus though; he didn't want to be rude and ignore Jack's question for the second time that afternoon.

"I think I'm going to enter the first year undeclared, maybe see what field I'm interested in and then specialize," Hiccup replied as he stood up and made his way to the exit door. He kept perfect balance as the bus came to a stop and the rear doors opened, granting him and Jack exit.

"That's actually a really good idea," Jack commented.

"Yeah. Hey, do you always get off at this stop?" Hiccup asked as they started to walk towards the intersection. As he walked he realized that his leg was starting to feel better, the pain from earlier nearly entirely gone.

"Yeah, why?" Jack confirmed.

"It's just, this is my stop too."

"Oh, really?" Jack asked before realizing it was a stupid question. Of course this was Hiccup's stop, he had gotten off.

"How did we not know each other before all this then?" Hiccup asked as he looked up and down the street. Jack's eyes widened for just a split second when he realized which way Hiccup was walking, towards the extravagant homes he had always looked at in awe and slight envy, but he corrected himself before Hiccup could notice.

"Well probably mostly because we never really spoke. Plus I don't remember you from elementary school. Did you live here then?"

"Yes, but my parents sent me to a different elementary school," Hiccup responded, "But it still seems strange to me." Jack simply shrugged and in the same moment, the line of cars finished which allowed Hiccup to cross the street. "That's my cue, I'll see you at school tomorrow!" Hiccup called as he jogged across the street and down the road. Jack took a moment to notice how natural Hiccup managed to look doing it with his fake leg even though it was acting up on him, and he had to admit, he was impressed.

...

JACK

Jamie and Sophie weren't on the driveway playing with chalk today, and so Jack proceeded to go straight home. He tossed his bag at the bottom of the stairs and called out to see if anyone was home, but he was greeted only with silence. Jack shrugged and proceeded to the kitchen, hungry for a snack of some sort.

He opened the fridge but closed it immediately, a flapping piece of paper from the force of the opening door catching his eye. He took the paper and skimmed it, discovering it was a note from his mother.

 _Got called into hospital. Records department wanted to see your father and me for some reason. If we aren't home before six order pizza. Money on the counter. Love mom._

Jack spun around and almost instantly spotted the red fifty dollar bill on the counter. As much as he loved his mother, her cooking was less than stellar. He ended up reaching for a box of cookies in the pantry for a snack for now, but he definitely hoped that she would be late and that he would get to order his pizza.

...

Jack had gotten his pizza and even gone to bed before his parents got home. It was one in the morning when Jack first stirred, awoken by the muffled voices of his parents in the next room. Groggy and mildly disoriented Jack attempted to return to sleep, but his ears perked to attention when he heard his mother say his name. He heard the low rumblings of his father's voice but couldn't quite make them out, still trying to focus.

When Jack finally had full hearing capabilities a moment later, the first thing he heard was his mother saying, "How are we going to tell him?" After that, there were no more voices.

...

HICCUP

Hiccup walked to the bottom of his driveway and performed the same ritual he had yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. And as always, he elected to go into the garage rather than the house. He didn't have any specific ideas in mind, but he thought that if he was around his usual environment and with his tools that inspiration may come.

As it turned out, none came. Hiccup sat there for well over an hour, turning and playing with the prototypes in the garage. When he had given up he had cleared a small square of his bench of tools and whipped out his textbooks, starting on his homework. When he was done that it was near six o'clock, and he couldn't help but wonder why neither of his parents had come out to say hello. Surely they had realized he was in the garage, right?

Putting his books in his bag he walked into the house, calling out a loud, "Hello?"

"In here," Aster responded, his voice originating from the living room.

"Hey," Hiccup said, walking to the arch and leaning against it. "Where are mom and dad? And Sandy?"

"Mom and dad got called into the hospital," Aster responded, eyes never leaving the screen. "Something about the records department I think."

"Do you know what for?"

"Yeah," Aster said, smirking and turning to face Hiccup. "They had mentioned something about looking up the medical history of your real family. Wanted to make sure you weren't going to give the rest of us any incurable diseases." He let out a solitary laugh before he muttered just loud enough for Hiccup to hear, "It would explain so much."

"Hardy har har," Hiccup droned with a flat expression on his face. As much as he loved sarcastic banter with his brother, his priorities were presently on food and how to procure some to satiate the growing hunger in his stomach. "So what's for dinner?"

"Last I checked Sandy was in the kitchen making something." As Aster said that his focus returned to the television and whatever show was on, and Hiccup chose to give up. He could realize when he wasn't going to get much more out of his brother.

He turned away from the living room but before he could walk a single step, he felt something brush against his one good leg. Looking down he found Toothless walking between his legs in a figure eight pattern, and Hiccup smiled. He picked up the cat and pet it a few times, to which the cat responded with a simple meow. The cat had been with him since the day he lost his leg, attacking the dog even though he had just been a kitten. The dog had knocked out several of his teeth, and Hiccup being the child he was just had to name him Toothless. They had put up lost kitten posters against Hiccup's pleas to just keep the feline, but his worries were for naught as when no one claimed him within a month he was told he would be allowed to keep the cat. Setting the cat down Hiccup restarted his trek, Toothless following closely behind.

He walked into the kitchen but before he could say anything, he laughed. Sandy was at the stove, a pot of soup cooking in front of him, but Hiccup could see the tired in his eyes. So much so the man's head was slowly bobbing, threatening to fall into slumber at any moment. He tapped the man's shoulder and when he looked up, he gave a small smile.

"Go rest, I'll take care of the soup," Hiccup offered, and Sandy simply smiled, nodded, and let put a silent yawn as he walked out of the room.

Hiccup was in bed before his parents got home. It was one at night when Hiccup first stirred, awoken by the muffled voices of his parents in the next room. Groggy and mildly disoriented Hiccup attempted to return to sleep, but his ears perked to attention when he heard his mother say his name. He heard the low rumblings of his father's voice but couldn't quite make them out, still trying to focus.

When Hiccup finally had full hearing capabilities a moment later, the first thing he heard was his mother saying, "How are we going to tell him?" After that, there were no more voices.

 **...**

 **DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNN! :P**

 **Can I haz reviews plz? Thx!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey readers, I am so sorry for the delay. A test plus a new job plus HiJack week does not equal much progress unfortunately. But don't worry, it should pick up again now :)**

 **...**

Jack had looked for Hiccup on the way to school, now knowing they were coming from the same direction, but he hadn't spotted him on the road from the bus or in the hallways. He wasn't entirely sure why he was searching so hard for the boy, subconsciously refusing to even consider that he was starting to latch on to one of the first scraps of friendship that he had been offered in many years.

It was on his way to lunch that his first encounter with the brunet occurred, in a near deserted hallway on the far end of the school. Jack had stayed behind in his class right before lunch for a few minutes to clarify a couple of questions he had before he started his walk to the cafeteria, and he hadn't even taken fifteen steps from the classroom when he heard Hiccup's voice and saw a small crowd of people just a few metres in front of him.

"Just leave me alone Snotlout," was the first thing Jack heard, and he immediately knew what was going on. Just because Jack kept to himself didn't mean he wasn't at least vaguely aware of what was going on at the high school.

"But this is so much fun, isn't it?" Snotlout asked Hiccup, a clear smile in his voice. Jack rolled his eyes and silently sighed, hoping for both Hiccup's and his own sake that this would end quickly and peacefully. "I mean what are a few jokes between friends?"

"Friends?" Hiccup asked, incredulous. Jack, still watching from a distance, saw Snotlout's face drop from mild amusement to slightly angry that Hiccup wasn't simply doing what he wanted (and Jack wasn't even sure what it was, but that was irrelevant). He debated once more as to if he should intervene, but when Hiccup saw him, he knew that he no longer had a choice. He wouldn't relish being in Snotlout's bad books for this, but he realized he also didn't want to end up in Hiccup's bad books and end up potentially alone once more.

"Hey, Hiccup!" Jack called, closing the gap between him and the group in front of him. "You ready to go?" Hiccup took this chance to dip under Tuffnut's arm and move closer to Jack.

"Yeah, let's go," Hiccup said without stopping. "See you guys later!"

Jack jogged a few steps to catch up to Hiccup, quickly falling in stride with him.

"Thanks for the save," Hiccup smiled, stealing a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed. Jack stole a glance as well and almost didn't believe what he saw: Tuffnut gave Hiccup a wink. He was certain he had just imagined it, but he had to ask.

"Did Tuffnut just wink at you?" Jack asked, not entirely sure what he saw in retrospect. Perhaps it had just been a blink or a twitch, but then why had the blond been smiling?

"Yeah, he does that," Hiccup said. "I've learned to ignore it."

"Do you think he's into you?" Jack asked, legitimately curious.

"Don't know," Hiccup shrugged, remembering that every time it had come up he had never really thought about it. "I mean for one I don't even know if he swings that way. If he does he hasn't exactly made it obvious. And if he is interested in me, why hasn't he ever come up to me on his own? And why does he continue to participate in these mobbings that Snotlout continuously perpetrates on me? I guess it's just some sort of sadistic joke or something."

"So you've spent some time thinking about that then?"

"Actually no. This was the first time I've ever allowed myself to even consider anything like this past face value."

Just then they arrived at the cafeteria line, and both boys' attention went directly to the menu board to see what was being served up that day. The line went quickly, seeing as the first ten minutes or so of lunch had already passed, and many of their classmates were already happily eating lunch just past the exit door.

They each picked up a slice of outrageously overpriced and extremely greasy pizza before heading out into the jungle they called a lunch room, searching the raucous crowds for Fishlegs, Astrid, and Ruffnut. It only took them about thirty seconds to spot the group on the far end of the room. Getting there, however, was another story.

For some reason, this particular lunch period seemed busier than any other. There were actually people standing to eat, and several people running across the room in all different directions. Jack almost had the pizza knocked out of his hand twice, and Hiccup nearly lost his footing on some spilled milk. When they finally arrived at the table they were glad to see that they had two seats reserved so they could get out of the line of fire. As they sat down they heard the crackling of the PA system above their head, however with the amount of background noise in the room there was absolutely no chance of anyone hearing the message. It was duly ignored by every student in the room.

"Hey, sorry we're late," Hiccup apologized as Jack took a bite of his pizza. He could feel the grease run down his chin from the first bite, but he was too hungry to care at the moment. He took another bite before using his napkin to wipe it away. He really needed to remember to avoid the pizza from then on.

"What happened?" Astrid asked.

"Let me guess," Ruffnut interrupted. "It had to do with Snotlout and my idiot twin." Hiccup simply touched his nose before taking a bite of pizza. "Did he wink at you this time?" Hiccup nearly spit out the bite of pizza he had just taken.

"How on EARTH did you know about that?" Hiccup asked, jaw hanging as if it were on a loose hinge. Jack watched on with interest while Astrid and Fishlegs just shrugged at each other in confusion.

Ruffnut couldn't stop herself from laughing, but unfortunately for Hiccup he was not meant to get an answer out of her. At that exact moment the secretary appeared at their table, standing right behind Jack. Her sudden and unexpected appearance immediately captured the attention and curiosity of everyone at the table.

"Mr. Haddock?" she asked Jack in a hurried tone. When Jack nodded she realized that the surrounding students were also paying attention, and as such she leaned closer to Jack's ear. "There's been an incident. I'll need you to come to the office. Post haste. Grab your bag and books as well." This only served to confuse Jack further.

"Jack, what's going on?" Fishlegs asked as the secretary left, raising an eyebrow at the situation.

"I think I'm being pulled out of school for the day," Jack said as he stood up. "I guess I'll see you guys later." The gang waved goodbye and Jack scarfed down his pizza as he made his way to his locker. He wasn't sure if his father even knew where he went to school, so it was only logical to assume that it was his mother who had withdrawn him from classes for the day. He didn't recall having any appointments and no special occasions came to mind, so why would she be there? He continued to rack his brain as he gathered his books and headed for the office, but his though process came to a screeching halt when he saw who was there –or more aptly, who wasn't.

Jack looked around the foyer area but neither his mother nor his father were anywhere to be seen. He glanced out the glass doors but there was not even a single car idling outside in the drop off lane. He meandered into the office, inquiring with the secretary that had summoned him just who was pulling him out for the day.

"It was your mother. She couldn't make it in person but she called. She also mentioned she was sending a taxi to pick you up. And unless my eyes deceive me, that's it right there," she stated as she pointed out the office door towards the front of the school. Sure enough, a taxi had just pulled up in front of the main doors. Jack simply nodded before heading out towards the awaiting car.

"Jack Haddock?" the driver asked as brunet approached. When Jack nodded the driver restarted the car and took off as soon as Jack was seated. Jack took a second to look around the taxi and soak in his surroundings, discovering it was immaculately clean and smelled faintly of pomegranates. The driver's cabbie license stated that his name was Nico Di Angelo.

Jack spent the first few minutes of the car ride wondering why his mother had had to send a taxi to pick him up. Was something wrong? Where was she? Then it dawned on him: he should probably just ask the driver where he was taking him. Odds were it was to his mother, right?

"Hey, uh, where are we headed exactly?"

"Burgess General Hospital," was the short and simple reply that Jack was provided.

Jack's pulse started to race and a cold, nervous sweat started to form near his hairline. Why was he going to the hospital? Was something wrong? A few seconds later he recalled that his parents had just been into the records department or something. It probably just had something to do with that. He calmed down momentarily before the panic returned, remembering that his mother and father were unsure about how to tell someone something. What if it was about him? What if there was something wrong with him that he didn't know about? Before Jack could allow his mind to wander any further they arrived at the front of the hospital and Jack had to hunt through his pockets for his wallet to pay the $8.49 fare.

"No need," Nico said as he raised his hand slightly, "it was prepaid."

"Oh, ok, thanks," Jack said, replacing his wallet and grabbing his bag. He watched the cab drive off into the distance and stood outside of the hospital for a solid two minutes, wondering what would greet him on the other side of those automatic glass doors. He steeled himself for the worst and marched through the doors, scanning the lobby for either of his parents. Coming up empty, he pulled out his phone and texted both of his parents that he was there. His mom was normally better at responding, but if his dad had to take time off from work and the campaign trail for this, he was probably spending more time on his phone than anything else. He would be glued to his phone.

Jack sat around for about fifteen minutes, listening to the constant beeping of machines and the muffled announcements on the PA system over the hushed whispers of other people in the hospital. He checked his phone for a response, but there were still no new messages. He was about to pound out another message when he was approached by a nurse, who stopped right in front of him.

"Jack Haddock?" the nurse asked, an unreadable expression on her face. Jack was starting to get tired of this shtick, but he kept quiet.

"Yes. And you are?" Jack asked, a little more sass in his voice than originally intentioned.

"I'm here to take you to your mother. This way please."

It was then that Jack understood why he had not received a message back. If his father wasn't even there then he wouldn't have even bothered with the message, and he just remembered his mother wasn't a fan of using her cell phone in the hospital. She said it interfered with the equipment, but Jack wasn't so sure. He simply stood and nodded, following the nurse through a set of doors and down a hallway. They ended up taking the elevator up to the fourth floor, but when the doors opened and Jack stepped off, the nurse didn't follow.

"You want room 415. To the right and down the hall. It's on the left." Jack hadn't even had the chance to get a word in edgewise before the elevator doors slid closed, but then again he hadn't been very talkative for the whole walk either.

Jack was in no rush to reach room 415. He wanted to know what was going on, but at the same time, he wasn't so sure he wanted to. He glanced at machines in the hallway and in open doors to distract himself slightly, eyeing doctors and other random people as they walked this way and that throughout the maze of a hospital like ants in an ant farm.

It seemed like it took him forever to reach the room, and yet at the same time, it came too soon. Jack refused to allow himself to be scared and give that part of him the satisfaction. With as little hesitation as he could, he knocked twice and opened the door.

A quick glance around the room revealed two unoccupied beds, and one occupied chair which held his mother. She was crying gently, a balled up tissue in her fist and her head hung low. Panic rushed over Jack like a tsunami, but he stayed as brave as he could amidst the sudden onslaught of dizziness. He dropped his bag and walked up to his mom, crouching to get down to her eye level.

"Mom, what's going on?" Jack asked, reaching up to grab one of her hands and hold it in his own. He waited patiently as she let out another few silent sobs, which did little to soothe Jack. But he would be strong; he was determined to be.

"Oh Jack," Valka started, biting her lip to hold back a sob before she could continue. "Your father's had a heart attack."


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the delay everyone! Working 3 new jobs plus summer school does not leave a lot of time for editing XD**

 **...**

Jack's head started to spin. He felt lightheaded and his palms became slick with sweat. He leaned against one of the beds, grasping the bar until his knuckles turned white in a feeble attempt to maintain his balance. He ended up slowly dropping to the floor, managing to keep his descent slow to prevent worrying his mother further. Jack pulled his knees close to his chest and just sat there as he listened to his mother's laboured breathing.

 _"How did this happen? Will he be alright? How long was it until he was found?"_ A whirlwind of questions blew through Jack's mind, and he found it hard to focus on any of them for longer than a few seconds. When Jack's cognitive functions caught up to the speed of his thoughts, he was hit by yet another recognition: he really cared about his father. It was a lot more than he thought it was too. It wasn't that he thought he didn't care about his father, it was just that their relationship had always been a little odd and strained. But now Jack realized how he really felt towards his father.

The seconds ticked by as they turned into minutes, and after not too long those minutes became an hour. In that entire time, not a word was exchanged between mother and son. It got to the point where Jack needed an escape, even if just for a few short minutes. He lifted himself up off of the cold, hard floor, pushing himself upright.

"Mom, I'm…going to go…for a walk. I'll be back soon."

Valka simply nodded, a single tear running down her cheek for the first time in over thirty minutes when Jack spoke, but Jack took his opportunity to step out of the room.

The door clicked softly behind Jack, and he stood there for a few seconds as he took a deep breath. He took off to the left, walking past doctors and open doors as he had when he had arrived, but this time he looked nowhere except down. He took lefts and rights without reading the signs, jumping into an elevator at one point and getting out at the next stop. His brain was silent for most of the walk, in stark contrast to when he had been back in the room. However the fresh air and space helped calm him down a little.

At some point into the walk –Jack had lost track of time– he ended up in the cafeteria. As if on cue his stomach grumbled, and he immediately fished around in his pocket for any spare change he had. He scraped together enough for a sandwich, and he found a spot at one of the many tables to eat it. He momentarily thought to his mother and wondered if she was hungry, but he didn't have any money left. He would have to offer to grab her something when he returned.

Jack's mind remained blank as he ate, and as he tossed the wrappings into the litter bin he glanced at the clock on the wall. He had been gone from the room for over an hour, and he figured that he should probably head back. If he was gone much longer his mother might start to worry and that was the last thing he wanted at the moment.

He walked quickly back to the room, arriving back at 415 only five minutes later. He paused with his hand outstretched to open the door, realizing that it was not how he'd left it. He had been sure to seal it behind him, but now it was ajar. He heard voices coming from inside, and a part of him wondered if he should stay outside. However, his curiosity got the better of him. He swung the door open, but neither his mother nor the doctor to whom she was speaking turned. Jack remained silent, slowly walking closer. A split second later the talking stopped, and Jack took his place next to his mother. When he heard the next words, a small part of him wished he hadn't been in the room.

"I'm so sorry. We did all we could, but he didn't make it."

...

Valka collapsed, and Jack barely had the strength to hold her. Her tears flowed freely once more, but while Jack's eyes remained dry it felt like a knife had been driven directly through his chest.

Jack set his mother down in the chair gently. If he thought he needed air before, he really needed it now. He wasn't claustrophobic, but the walls of the room seemed to be closing in.

"Mom I need to go I'll see you at home," was all that Jack could get out before he bolted out of the room once more. The sentence was so rushed Jack could barely understand it himself, but his mother appeared to get the gist of it as she waved him out.

By the time Jack stopped running, he couldn't even see the hospital anymore. He had to have gone at least three kilometres, and his heart was pounding in his chest and ringing in his ears. The air was crisp that afternoon and while the sun was shining and the birds were singing, Jack couldn't be bothered to take the time to realize just how nice a day it was.

As Jack walked, his brain slowly started to function once more. To him it was still surreal to think that he no longer had a father. And to that fact, Jack realized he didn't feel sorrow or sadness at the moment. No, he felt anger, and it boiled up inside of him until it overflowed like a pot on the stove for too long.

The outpouring came in the form of a long, painful scream and a few tears streaking his cheeks. His holler scared off at least a dozen pigeons, but Jack couldn't have cared less. He needed to be alone, to get away. As it was still the middle of the day Jack decided to stick mostly to residential side streets when he could, finding they were still fairly deserted.

Jack wondered how his father could do this to him. Deep down he knew that this wasn't Stoick's fault, but it just seemed easier to blame him. He had the ammunition too: overstressing himself from work, his not always healthy diet, the reasons were practically being fed to him on a silver platter. But as time moved on, Jack slowly stopped blaming his father. His hostilities moved to blaming the world as a whole and asking what he had done to deserve this. As if things weren't already hard enough in his life, but now the world had taken away his father? And what was his mother to do? She was most likely still back in that hospital room, bawling her eyes out all alone. Jack considered going back for a split second, but he couldn't bring himself to be anywhere near that building at the moment.

When Jack got stopped by all of the side streets ending at the river, he had no choice but to head over to the main strip in order to cross it. He didn't have any particular destination in mind, his legs simply operating on auto pilot, however he did have a desire to cross it and get to the other side. A barrier such as that had the potential to help him feel even more separated from the hospital.

Jack had to backtrack a little to get to the main road, and just before he could cross the bridge he had to pass a few store fronts. He caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of a store window, and that made him stop. Staring at himself, he couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness come crashing down on him like waves on a beach. They were small, yet continuous and with the combined power to change the very land upon which they landed. He was staring at something his father had created. And now he feared that every time he saw his reflection, every time he saw a glimpse of himself, that would be all he would think of. Jack decided instantly he couldn't bear to see that.

Jack crossed the bridge slowly, watching the rushing waters of the river underneath. He estimated it to be approximately a 20 metre drop to the rocky waterbed below, the river itself only a few feet deep at that particular location. In the back of his head he wondered just how long it would take for a person to drop that far if they were to jump. He kept walking though; while he didn't want to be reminded of his father on a daily basis, he definitely wasn't suicidal.

His answer came when he finished crossing the bridge and passed the stores on the other side before the first opportunity to turn into the neighbouring subdivision. It was a little hair salon he had never heard of, and it looked relatively empty on the inside at the moment. Staring at a mirror they had in the window, he realized what he could change that would probably stop the thoughts stampeding through his brain.

Jack opened the door and a small bell chimed, grabbing the attention of the hairdresser inside. He wore a tight black t-shirt and black jeans, his own short dark hair gelled up in spikes. Jack liked the way his own hair was styled, and he didn't believe that simply changing the style would be enough to help anything.

"Hi, what can I do for you?" the man asked, putting the magazine he had been reading down. He stood up from behind the tall desk, revealing his true height. He was much taller than Jack had expected.

"I'd like to dye my hair," Jack responded simply and stoically. He subconsciously checked his pockets to make sure his wallet was there, and sure enough his hand brushed up against the credit card his parents had given him to use just in case of emergency. This wasn't really an emergency, but he would pay the money back when he could.

"Sure. What colour were you thinking?"

Jack hadn't really thought that part through. Did he want something subtle? No, he wanted something that would leave no mistake that he was now a different person. Something that without chance would not allow his mind to wander to his father and the fact that he had helped create this boy. He ran a hand through his brunet locks and looked outside, where he found his inspiration in the window of the holiday store across the street.

"White."

"Oh wow, that's a colour we don't normally keep on hand. Let me see if we have that," the man said as he walked into the back. Jack watched him open a few cupboards and rummage inside before the man returned, holding a bottle of what Jack could only assume was dye. "Looks like we do have some. Must be your lucky day. Come on, take a seat."

Jack took a deep breath and walked towards the awaiting chair. This couldn't be done quickly enough.

...

Jack sat in the chair for nearly an hour and a half, mind blank and partially listening to the soft rock playing over the speaker system in the salon. The air reeked of dye and chemicals, but Jack had gotten over it by that point. He felt the gentle togs on his hair by the hair dresser removing the foil, and while he was watching the man work in the mirror he wasn't really seeing what was going on. Any attempts for small talk had been quashed in the first few minutes, with Jack only opening his mouth enough as to not come off as rude.

"Alright, you're set to go," the man said as he took off the latex gloves he had been wearing throughout the process.

Jack looked up at his reflection and truly looked for the first time. Staring back at him in the mirror was a person he didn't even recognize. It had worked to perfection. He lifted his hand as if to touch his hair, but then decided against it. He didn't know if it would still be wet at all, so he decided not to touch it for the next little while.

Jack followed the man to the counter and paid the $50 charge. To him, at the moment, it was worth every penny. He listened to the last minute instructions the man had for his coloured hair before departing from the salon and continuing his walk. He took off in the same direction he had been going previously, still wanting nothing to do with the hospital. At the first opportunity, he entered the side streets of the subdivision.

The side roads were no longer as empty as he would have liked, however they were better than the main streets. Although on the side streets he was closer to other people who were giving him odd looks, undoubtedly due to his hair, Jack was fairly good at ignoring them. He figured he'd let them have their glance and then never have to see them again.

The sun was starting to go down by the time Jack realized where he was. He was only a few minutes from his house, coming from further down than he would have had he come from school. On this route he would need to pass both the Frost and the Bennett household to get home, and that was something he wasn't sure he would be comfortable doing at this point as they may ask questions. In the end, however, his feet were tired and his bed sounded pretty good right about now.

As Jack walked down the street he spotted the first house he would need to pass. He sincerely hoped that Hiccup and his family would be inside so he could simply continue on. He kept his speed up and his head down, only glancing up once and finding that the garage door was indeed open. He could hear Hiccup's voice from two doors down and he silently cursed to himself, but he didn't slow down. As he passed the house he noticed Hiccup look up and wave out of the corner of his eye, but Jack didn't acknowledge the greeting. He also saw Hiccup retract his hand and sit back down, clearly choosing not to insist. Jack was thankful for that.

He crossed the main street and spotted his next obstacle: the Bennett residence. He didn't want to brush off the Bennett kids, and normally he never would, but these were extenuating circumstances. Seeing as they were out on the driveway playing with chalk, he didn't think he would have much of a choice. Jack sincerely hoped that they would understand.

"Hey Jack!" both Jamie and Sophie called, jumping up from the driveway and running up to the sidewalk. "What's up with your hair?"

A quick greeting was all they got before Jack continued to walk right past the confused children. It sounded like they were about to chase after him, but he heard their mother approach them and say, "Not now kids. It's not a good time for him."

Jack nearly stopped in his tracks. He should have assumed his mother would fill their mother in. At the moment he was grateful for the silent understanding. He dropped the subject from his mind as he inserted his key into the lock of their front door and pushed it open. He paused in the foyer, but he knew instantly what he wanted to do. He climbed the stairs, conscientiously avoiding looking at the door into the master bedroom. He flopped onto his bed as soon as he was in his own room and pushed the door shut with his foot.

Jack was asleep almost instantly.

 **...**

 **8D I REGRET NOTHING! But please feel free to send Jack and Valka your condolences via the review box ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Working full time 3 cities over sucks...sorry about the delay...**

 **...**

Hiccup couldn't have been happier that it was Friday. It felt like the weekend had taken its sweet time to get here, and he was definitely going to make the most of it - or at least after classes ended for the day. Too bad he was still stuck in first period.

Hiccup glanced around the room as the teacher explained something he already understood perfectly, and his eyes rested on Jack, sitting alone in the far back corner. He wasn't normally in this class, but Mrs. Jackson had gone into labour yesterday afternoon so until a replacement was found Jack and some of his classmates had been put into Hiccup's section.

Hiccup was determined to talk to the boy, especially to ask what was going on with his hair, but he had been so distant that morning. Hiccup had gotten to class first, but when Jack had walked in he had walked right past the open spot beside the brunet. The now white haired teen hadn't even acknowledged him, instead walking directly to the back corner and sitting himself down as far as possible from anyone else in the room. Hiccup would have gone up to him but the teacher had picked that exact moment to start.

When the bell rang to signal the end of class, Hiccup remained in his spot. He held out hope that Jack would talk to him on his way out. Unfortunately those hopes were squashed as Jack walked right past him without a word.

Hiccup picked up his bag and walked slowly towards his next class. He would have to admit defeat for now, knowing he probably wouldn't see the boy until their shared lunch period after next period. Hiccup was going to find out what was going on, one way or another.

...

Hiccup set his tray down on the table, sitting himself down next to his friends. They were in the middle of some conversation on some test that was coming up, but Hiccup really didn't care. He waited for a lull in the conversation to jump in.

"Hey, have you guys seen Jack yet?"

"No. I mean yes," Ruffnut replied. When Hiccup gave her a confused look, she pointed. Through the mass of people exiting the cafeteria and coming into the lunch room was the teen with white hair. He looked around the lunch room once before heading off in the opposite direction as them. Hiccup stood up as if to give chase, but Astrid grabbed his shirt and stopped him.

"Hiccup, I saw him in second period. Something is very clearly bothering him. I think we should give him some space."

Hiccup knew something was bothering Jack, that had been made clear last night when he walked past his house. But Hiccup didn't want to just sit there helpless. He was going to do something about it.

He blatantly ignored Astrid's advice, grabbing his tray of food and walking away as soon as Astrid released his shirt. He heard her call his name, but he ignored it. She didn't attempt to stop him, knowing that once Hiccup decided he was going to do something there was little that could be done to stop it.

Jack was sitting alone in a corner of the lunch room, picking at his lunch but not really eating it. As he played with the bread on his sandwich Hiccup sat down right beside the boy, giving him a smile. Jack looked up for only a split second before returning to his food, not sparing a single word for his friend. Hiccup, however, was going to play hardball.

"Hey, what's up?" Hiccup asked cheerily, taking a bite of his own lunch.

"Nothing," was all Jack replied in a mopey tone. Hiccup decided to take the abrupt route.

"Ok Jack, what's going on? We're worried about you."

"I'm fine." Jack didn't even look up.

"No Jack, you're not. Anyone with eyes can see that."

"I don't want to talk about it."

Hiccup was a little hurt by this. Sure they hadn't been friends very long, but the fact that Jack wouldn't talk to him really hurt him. He wasn't aware of anything he had done wrong, so why was Jack taking it out on him? As much as Hiccup didn't want to admit it, he could realize when he wasn't going to get anywhere. So much for playing hardball.

"Alright, fine. If you want to talk, you know where I am," Hiccup stated, picking up his tray and stepping back from the table. He made sure to convey in his voice that he was upset with Jack's behaviour.

"Wait," Jack said after Hiccup took only two steps, still focusing solely on his food. "Sit."

Hiccup sat down and forgot about his food, his attention solely on Jack. He said nothing, simply waiting for Jack to continue.

"Look, I didn't mean to worry you guys. It's just…the past 24 hours have been pretty rough for me."

"Does this have something to do with it?" Hiccup asked, flicking a lock of Jack's hair with a smile. The corners of Jack's mouths twitched for just a second before dropping once more.

"Yeah," Jack sighed.

"So, what happened?"

Hiccup almost regretted asking it. Jack took a momentary pause before responding, and from the look on his face Hiccup thought that Jack had just broken a little on the inside. He could see the water gathering in Jack's eyes, but he had no idea what to say. Jack spoke first.

"My-my dad died."

Hiccup was shocked. A horrible feeling hit the base of his gut, but he knew he needed to speak up. Something awful had happened to his friend, and he needed to be there for him.

"Jack, I'm so sorry. How's your mom taking it?" He avoided asking how it happened, not wanting to bring up his father more than he had to. Besides, the man was mayor, he'd probably hear about it on the news in the next day or so.

"She's been holed up in her bedroom the whole time from what I know," Jack sighed, wiping away the water rolling down his cheek. The tears stopped, the result of Jack most likely telling himself internally to be strong.

"Oh. I'm really sorry Jack. Look, how about you come out to dinner with the gang and me tonight? It might help take your mind off things."

"I'd like that," Jack said, finally looking up. "Besides, I think my mom would appreciate the house to herself for a while."

"Perfect! I just have to swing by my place after class but then we can get together with the others and head out. Sound good?"

"Yeah. And thanks," Jack said, truly thankful for Hiccup.

"No problem. Now, let's see a smile," Hiccup teased, bumping his shoulder against Jack's. Jack's mouth twisted upwards ever so slightly, however it was not enough for Hiccup. "That's not a smile that's a smirk. Come on," Hiccup pushed, throwing an arm around Jack's shoulders and shaking him a little. When Jack finally cracked and showed a little teeth, Hiccup let up and bore a true smile of his own.

"There, happy?" Jack asked.

"Very. I'm going to head back to the group now. You coming or are you going to stay here?"

"I think I'm going to eat here. Just for today."

"Alright. See you after class," Hiccup smiled before turning to walk away, back to their group of friends.

"So, what happened?" Astrid demanded before Hiccup had even sat down.

"I don't think I should tell you what's wrong; I should leave that to him. But who's available to go out for dinner tonight?"

...

Hiccup met Jack at the bus stop after class that day. Astrid and Fishlegs were walking home, but Hiccup decided to go with Jack rather than meeting up with him on their street later. Plus it would give Jack an excuse to spend as little time at his house as possible later. He remembered Jack commenting that he thought his mother would like the alone time.

No words were spoken at the bus stop, a silent understanding of Jack wanting more time to just be within his own head, and for the first few minutes on the bus the pair did nothing but listen to the rumbles of the engine and the chatter of fellow passengers. It was Jack who broke the silence those few minutes later.

"Hey, is that Astrid and Fishlegs walking over there?" Jack asked, pointing out the window. Hiccup glanced over and sure enough, the pair was saying their temporary goodbyes until they met up for dinner later.

"Yeah. They live down this way too, but not as far as we do. They tend to walk."

Two stops later and the pair disembarked, along with three other people they didn't recognize. They walked to the intersection before looking at each other, both wondering the same thing but neither speaking up at first.

"So, your place first or mine?" Jack finally asked, looking both ways down the street.

"Uh, how about yours?" Hiccup proposed, pointing down towards Jack's house.

"Sure." The pair walked halfway down the block, stopping at Jack's plain brick house. They walked in silently, Jack dropping his bag at the door and grabbing a piece of paper from the drawer of the table in the hall. He scribbled a quick note, leaving it on the top of the table and heading back towards the door. Hiccup was more than happy to leave, hearing soft, strained, muffled sobs coming from upstairs. They had only been in the house for approximately thirty seconds, but to Hiccup it felt like it had been closer to five minutes.

They were silent for the first moment or so of the walk to Hiccup's place, but Jack broke the silence once more as he approached the Bennett residence. He jogged up to the kids playing on the driveway, causing Hiccup to fall behind.

"Hey guys, how are you?" Jack asked, giving them both a hug as they approached.

"Great!" Sophie exclaimed, dropping her pink piece of chalk.

"Are you feeling better than yesterday?" Jamie asked, a quizzical expression on his face. Hiccup had caught up by this point, and he had caught on to what Jamie had said. He could only imagine how Jack would have looked walking past this house yesterday. He chose to keep quiet.

"Yeah, a lot. Sorry about that," Jack apologized.

"That's alright. Who's he?" Jamie asked, pointing a finger at Hiccup.

"This is my friend Hiccup," Jack explained, wrapping an arm around Hiccup's shoulders for effect.

"Hi Hiccup!" Sophie nearly yelled, waving dramatically. "You have a weird name."

"Sophie!" Mrs. Bennett scolded, exiting the house to inspect what all the voices were about. Jack would have spoken up, but he was too busy laughing into his sleeve. Even Hiccup had to let out a bit of a smile. "That's not nice! I'm sorry Hiccup."

"That's alright," Hiccup assured.

"I don't believe I've ever met you before Hiccup. Do you live around here?"

"Yeah, I live on the other side of Credit Woodlands. And just for the sake of full disclosure, my real name is Hayden. People just call me Hiccup."

"Oh, well, it was a pleasure to meet you Hayden. But if you'll excuse me, I can't leave the kettle unattended much longer. I'll see you Tuesday Jack!"

"See you Tuesday," Jack confirmed.

"Nice to meet you too Mrs…" Hiccup started, looking to Jack.

"Bennett," Jack whispered quickly.

"Bennett!" Hiccup finished with a smile, trying to play it off. She gave him a wave before disappearing behind the door. The remaining three all snickered.

"Alright guys, Hiccup and I have to go but I'll see you Tuesday."

"Bye Jack!" the siblings said in unison before returning to their chalk. Hiccup and Jack continued back down the street towards Hiccup's house.

"So what's going on on Tuesday?" Hiccup asked as they crossed the street.

"Oh, I promised to babysit Jamie and Sophie." Hiccup simply nodded, remaining silent for the remainder of the thirty second walk to his house.

Hiccup walked up to the garage before remembering he wasn't going to his workstation and turning towards the path to the front door. Jack elected not to comment, having a feeling he understood Hiccup's force of habit.

Hiccup opened the door, and Aster happened to be on the other side. He did a double take, seeing as Hiccup rarely came in the front door after school.

"Whoa, I was starting to doubt you knew where the front door was!" Aster cracked with a smile.

"And I'm starting to doubt you even go to school."

"Don't need to be there as long if you study hard enough."

"Oh please you don't even know what a book is."

At that point Aster finally seemed to notice there was someone else in the house. He gave Jack a once over before turning back to his brother.

"Who's this, your boyfriend?"

"No, but I'm glad you think I could get someone. Can't say the same for you."

"Hey at least I've dated someone before."

"Six days doesn't count."

"It was six weeks!"

"You keep on believing that. I'm going out to the mall and then to dinner with Astrid, Fishlegs, and Jack here. Tell everyone would you?" Before receiving an answer he turned to Jack, adding, "Jack, you've just had the unfortunate consequence of meeting my brother Aster." After saying that, he headed for the door, and Jack followed.

"Unfortunate? He just met the first sane person from this family."

"Sane? Aster, you know you're not supposed to be around people without taking your pills! Stop your crazy talk before I get back or I'll have to tell mom. Do you really want the tube again?"

Aster just scoffed, and Hiccup took the opportunity to close the door. He wore a smile and shook his head softly. Jack wondered if that was their usual sibling banter, or if that was out of the ordinary for them.

"Sorry about that, Aster and I can really go at it sometimes."

"It's fine," Jack assured him. "It was kind of funny. But what's up with his grey hair?"

"Oh, he's an old man trapped in a twenty-something year old's body. It's tragic really. So, mall?"

"Let's go," Jack said with a laugh, leading the charge to the bus stop.

...

The pair caught the bus westbound just as it was pulling up to the stop. Paying their fares and taking a pair of seats near the back they started to chat before the bus came to another stop not too far along. Glancing up, they watched both Astrid and Fishlegs board the bus. They waved at them from their seats, and the pair smiled in response while walking back to join them.

"Perfect timing," Astrid said, taking the seat across the aisle. Fishlegs took the seat in front of them. He noticed them both checking out Jack's hair now that they had the opportunity for a closer look, but Hiccup gave them a glare that told them to back off and not ask about it at that moment. Fortunately they caught on.

"What were the odds we'd be on the same bus?" Hiccup asked rhetorically. Unfortunately, Fishlegs didn't catch on to that part.

"Well I know this route is approximately nine kilometres long, and the frequency at this time of day is every thirty minutes. Assuming an average speed of twenty five kilometres per hour, the odds of us being on the same bus are quite easily calculable."

"That's ok Fishlegs, we don't need the actual numbers," Jack said.

"Oh, ok," Fishlegs replied, a small look of disappointment crossing his features. He eyes looked down towards his feet, and Astrid and Hiccup knew he was still going to calculate out the odds just for his own amusement.

As they passed the school, Hiccup looked over the crowd of students leaving for the day after their extra-curricular activities. He was hunting for Ruffnut, seeing if she was out of field hockey practice yet. Astrid seemed to read his mind.

"Ruff's not coming. She has a family thing with Tuff."

"Do she and Tuffnut get along?" Jack asked. He knew about them at school even before he had met Hiccup, but he had never really seen them together at school.

"Yeah, they get along fine," Astrid offered. "It's just they have different interests in terms of academics and extra-curricular activities so they don't spend much school time together. They made different friends."

They spoke for several more minutes, and suddenly Hiccup reached up and dinged the bell. They didn't quite realize just how fast the bus had been moving, and they had arrived at the mall in record time. They walked wordlessly as a pack through the bus terminal and into the mall, entering through one of the large anchor department stores.

"Since it's only like 4:00 do you guys want to catch a movie first?" Hiccup suggested after realizing it would be far too early to go to dinner.

"What's playing?" Fishlegs asked, leading the charge down the hallway towards the movie theatre.

"I guess we'll find out."

The group had a five minute debate, but ended up settling on watching the theatre's "classic" movie. Every week they brought back an older movie and played it for a discounted admission. This week's feature: Brave.

...

Two hours and fifteen minutes later the group was sitting in the fifties diner across the hall from the theatre, eating burgers and in the middle of a heated discussion on the film.

"I see Merida as a strong, independent girl. She did what needed to be done to maintain her independence," Astrid argued.

"She turned her mother into a bear and endangered her whole family! Don't you think that was a little extreme?" Fishlegs retorted.

"Not at all. She used the resources available to her. They may not have been the best resources, but they were there nonetheless."

"I fear for your family if they ever threaten your freedom," Hiccup joked, to which Jack let out a snicker. They both received fries tossed at their face, but Jack managed to catch his in his mouth and ate it with a smile.

"Granted I believe she should be grounded from here to kingdom come, but morally I find no issue with what she did."

"There were tons of moral issues!" Fishlegs started, but the look Astrid gave him stopped him in his tracks. She took her quasi-victory with a smile, then proceeded to take another large bite of her burger.

Just then, Jack's phone dinged. It wasn't Jack's normal ring tone, and the way he scrambled to fish it out of his pocket had the others all look at each other in confusion.

"Is everything alright Jack?" Hiccup asked, putting down his burger.

"That's my mom's ringtone."

A silent understanding flooded over the group. They all remained silent as Jack's eyes skimmed over the phone screen several times before he put it back in his pocket.

"Jack?" Hiccup prodded.

"Oh sorry. It's just, my mom just said we have to go to the hospital tomorrow morning." The group nodded in understanding, but didn't say a word further on the subject. As it turned out, that subject had hardly been brought up at all that night. Astrid and Fishlegs had discovered the truth at home, watching the afternoon news as they prepared to go out.

When the group finished their meal they walked the long way through the mall, looking in the windows of various stores as they made their way to the bus. No one bought anything, but Hiccup could definitely see Astrid adding a few things to a mental list to come back for.

The bus ride back was also relatively silent; the first sound came from Fishlegs telling Astrid that their stop was next. They waved goodbye to Hiccup and Jack, telling them they'd see them in class Monday before they exited. Two stops later Hiccup and Jack followed their example.

As they stood at the intersection, waiting to split ways, they both paused. They looked at each other for a solid fifteen seconds, neither sure what to say. When Hiccup finally found the words, he was rushed as his opportunity to cross the street was drawing close.

"Hey, good luck tomorrow. You'll get through this; I know you will. If you need anything, let me know. Alright?"

"I will, thanks," Jack smiled. Hiccup moved closer and gave Jack a friendly hug, to which Jack paused. The only people he had ever really hugged were Jamie, Sophie, and occasionally his mom, but this felt, different. Jack was a little hesitant, but he returned the hug with only a momentary pause.

When they let go there was a gap in traffic and Hiccup took his leave, leaving Jack alone to walk in the darkness towards his own house while wondering what was going to happen tomorrow.

 **...**

 **Again, sorry about the delay. Feel free to yell at me in a review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**For all of you who have been asking, now ;)**

 **...**

 **HICCUP**

"Hiccup, wake up," came a soft voice, stirring the teen from his slumber. In his groggy state of mind he immediately and irrationally thought it was his alarm, and as such he inwardly cursed himself for setting it on a Saturday. He felt around and pressed the snooze button, then rolled over onto his stomach.

"Come on Hiccup, wake up. I don't come with a snooze button." At that point Hiccup realized it wasn't his alarm, rolled onto his side, and opened his eyes. When his vision cleared he discovered his mother standing beside his bed, leaning over him slightly and with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Uuunnnhhh, it's Saturday," Hiccup complained, returning to his stomach once more.

"Yes, it is. But we have an appointment and you need to be there." Hiccup caught some strain in her voice, but he brushed it off. He figured perhaps she had just gotten up as well.

"What time is it?"

"Nine. The appointment is in an hour, so up and at 'em," Toothiana encouraged, shaking the boy to wake him up further.

"Where are we going?"

"The hospital." Hiccup bolted upright.

"The hospital? What's wrong? Who's there? Did someone get hurt?" Hiccup's mind had gone from a snail's pace to a mile a minute in under three seconds flat. He barely even noticed the dizziness from how quickly he had moved.

"No, no one's hurt. But get ready; we need to be on time." With that Toothiana left the room, leaving Hiccup to mull around and get ready.

Hiccup brushed his teeth and pulled on some decent clothes before heading downstairs, finding the house suspiciously empty for a Saturday morning; he couldn't even find Toothless. He walked into the kitchen and as if to add to his suspicion, his favourite breakfast was waiting for him. One deep breath removed his suspicions, albeit only temporarily. When Hiccup remembered his suspicions once more, he brought up his questions.

"So, where is everyone?"

"Oh, everyone else had somewhere to be. They'll meet up with us later."

"Ok, so what's with breakfast then?"

"I felt bad for waking you up without warning." The last answer came out more like a question, but with such non-committal answers Hiccup knew that he wasn't going to get anywhere fast. He'd just have to wait and see what was going on. It wasn't an option he liked, but he didn't have much of a choice.

Immediately after Hiccup finished eating they were on the road to Burgess General Hospital, the only sounds around them being the sound of the rubber on the road, the purring of the engine of the SUV, and the soft, barely audible music coming from the speakers.

"So, care to explain what this is all about?" Hiccup asked a few minutes into the drive, attempting to strike up any form of conversation while divulging information from his unusually stubborn mother.

"I'll explain when we get there," was the only answer he got. Hiccup sighed and turned up the music. This was going to be a very painful process, he could just feel it. He listened to the music for another ten minutes before they pulled up to the hospital

"Alright, here we are," Toothiana announced as she pulled into a parking spot in the parking garage. As Hiccup got out of the car he looked over at his mother, spotting a shiny spot on her cheek. Upon closer inspection he realized it was a tear, and that only served to confuse and concern Hiccup further. What exactly was being hidden from him? He really didn't appreciate all of the suspense.

"Mom, are you ok? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Hiccup hoped that the onslaught of questions all at once would inspire answers to at least some of them, but he was sadly mistaken. In fact, he got even less than before.

"Nothing," was her only response.

Hiccup followed his mother inside and up to the reception desk. He thought that she would have to explain to the nurse why they were here, but again he was stymied.

"Hi, we're the Frosts." That was all Toothiana said before the nurse looked down at her computer and pressed a few buttons.

"Ah yes, room 312. Just head up to the third floor; it'll be on your right. They're already there."

"Thank you," Toothiana responded before she grabbed Hiccup's wrist and dragged him to the elevator. Hiccup elected not to comment on the unnecessary physical contact, or at least not for the moment.

The elevator was empty when it arrived, and it took them directly to the third floor. They walked through the halls, following the signs for room 312. Hiccup was about to reach for the door handle, but before he could his mother stopped him and forced him to face her.

"Hiccup, before we go in, I want you to remember something. No matter what happens, know that I, that we, love you. Alright?"

"I know mom. But why are you saying that? Why are you acting like this?"

Toothiana looked like she had just crumbled inside. He could see a small tear start to form in the corner of her eyes once more, but instead of answering she pushed open the door and walked in, leaving Hiccup to follow her.

The hospital room looked like a normal room, a few dozen square metres in size with a large window at the back and a small television on the wall, however there were no beds. Instead, where the two hospital beds would normally have been there was instead a semicircle of chairs, all occupied by his family. His father, Aster, Sandy, even Toothless; they were all there. He didn't think cats were allowed in a human hospital, but he brushed the thought aside for more pressing matters. His mother sat in the last seat in the semicircle, leaving only a single seat facing the semicircle open. He figured that seat had been left for him rather than a spot on the small couch against the wall.

"So, is this like an intervention or something?" Hiccup asked half-jokingly, hoping to crack someone and lighten the mood a little, but no one looked like they even considered smirking.

"Have a seat short stack," was all Aster said, and the fact that he had to be the one to say it added to Hiccup's concern. He saw Sandy looking down, but he knew the man wasn't sleeping. His dad was too busy hugging his mom, trying to calm her. He couldn't see her face, but he suspected that the tears were flowing a little more freely now that they were all here. When Hiccup sat down Toothless immediately jumped into his lap, and he started to pet the cat subconsciously. If he hadn't known any better, he would have thought he was dying or something.

"Alright, would someone explain to me what exactly is going on?" Hiccup demanded. When no one offered to supply an answer, Hiccup got really mad. "Now!" he yelled, tired of being left out of the loop. He was starting to shake like a leaf in autumn, partially from anger and partially from the stress of not knowing what was going on. He jumped when he heard a voice from his right, towards the door to the room.

"I think I can help out with that." The man who spoke wasn't wearing a typical doctor's outfit, but a suit and tie. He held a folder in his hand, a maroon looking one with Hiccup's name written on it.

"And you are?"

"My name is Adrian Smith. I'm in charge of the records department here at the hospital." As soon as he said that, the gears started turning in Hiccup's head. He recalled that not too long ago his parents had been called into the records department here. It was the night he had heard his mom ask his dad how they were going to tell him something. They knew this whole time what was going on, and they didn't tell him? Hiccup was only getting more and more furious.

"So why am I here?" Hiccup demanded, a little more bite in his voice than the man deserved, but Hiccup's emotions were going crazy at the moment and he needed answers immediately, if not sooner.

"You see Hayden, when you were born there was a mix up of names and records. Your record was mistaken for someone else's born on the same day. We noticed the error when we were inputting all of our paper records into our databases as part of an upgrade."

"Ok, so my file is slightly off. Do you just need to ask me some questions or something to straighten it out?"

"I'm afraid it's not quite that simple Hayden."

"I don't understand."

"Hayden, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to have to say it. Unless someone else here would prefer to?" When everyone in the room shook their head, the doctor continued. "Hayden, you were switched at birth."

No one spoke for a few moments. The tension in the room while Hiccup thought over those words was so thick it could be cut with a knife. The room became unnaturally silent even considering they were in a hospital, and all eyes were trained on the brunet.

"What-what do you mean? That these people aren't my family? That the life I've been living isn't mine?" Tears started to form in the corner of Hiccup's eye. He kept his eyes trained on Mr. Smith but his hands gestured to the people sitting around him. He was no longer sure he could call them family.

"Well they've raised you for eighteen years so you might consider them family," Mr. Smith pointed out.

"But there is no blood there, no connection?"

"Hiccup," North said softly, drawing the boy's attention. Hiccup's expression softened upon seeing the expressions on his so-called "family". They were visibly hurt by that last comment, and Toothiana was still crying. Even Aster had a mildly sympathetic yet still hurt look on his face. They weren't taking this nearly as hard as he was; had they all known in advance? They must have.

"How long have you all known?" Hiccup asked, but an answer was not easily forthcoming. Gazes averted instantly, so Hiccup repeated, "How long have you all known?"

"A few days mate," Aster answered.

Hiccup looked down at Toothless. He was the only one who didn't seem to be upset at this whole situation. The cat simply looked up at him, nuzzled his chin in an act of comfort, and returned to his position on Hiccup's lap once more.

"Why did no one tell me?" As Hiccup kept talking, his voice dropped in volume, trying to simultaneously make everything work in his head.

"We thought it would be best with everyone around and with a professional," Toothiana choked out.

"Hayden," Mr. Smith interjected, "there are services available to help you understand and get past this. If you'd like we can set up an appointment…"

"No," Hiccup interrupted. "There's no need for that. But, do I get to meet my real parents?"

"If you'd like, the other family is here today. They've agreed to meet you, if you were interested."

"I am," Hiccup said immediately, standing up and knocking Toothless off his lap. The cat shot him a dirty look but meandered off towards the window, jumping onto the sill to nap in the sun.

"Would you like them here?" he asked, gesturing to the others in the room.

"That's their decision," Hiccup responded, to which everyone in the room nodded. Truth be told, Hiccup was glad that the 'family' that had raised him would be there for him through this. He may have been unsure of his future now, but at least he knew he was supported by his past.

"Alright, I'll go get them. We'll be back in a moment or so."

Hiccup sat down and braced himself for what was to come. There was no way this would be easy.

 **JACK**

Jack woke up early that morning, deciding to take a shower with his extra time. He heard his mom in her room as he walked past, but the door was closed. He stood in the shower for twenty minutes, just letting the water cascade over him as he thought about what was to come. What could the appointment be about? His father was dead, and when last he checked they were already sure it was a heart attack. The funeral wasn't being planned by the hospital, so Jack came up empty. When he finally finished and tossed on some clothes he started to head to the kitchen, but even as he ate breakfast he wasn't joined by his mother. That, however, simply allowed more time for his mind to wonder.

Jack was standing at the door at 9:30, waiting for his mother. As she came down the stairs, he could see tears flowing from her eyes even now. They glistened against the hall light, and yet another fragment of Jack's heart broke for her. She headed straight for the door, without breakfast or anything else to eat or drink for that matter. Jack felt uncomfortable with her driving in this state of mind and malnutrition, so he grabbed the keys from the bowl and shook them. His mother nodded in silent understanding.

The car ride to the hospital was silent. Not a single word was exchanged, and the radio was left off. The traffic lights were with them, and they arrived at 9:40. They pulled into a parking spot, but before either of them moved Valka finally spoke up.

"Jack, before we go in I need to tell you something. This meeting, it's not about your father. It's about you." This statement only served to confuse Jack. He hadn't even been to the hospital as of late; what could this possibly be about?

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"I think it would be better if they explained," Valka said as she got out of the car and slammed the door, effectively ending the conversation. Jack was set to argue, but just because this meeting wasn't about his father didn't mean that his mother was over it. The last thing he wanted to do was rile her up.

As they walked into the hospital and approached the reception desk, Jack remained a pace or two behind his mother. He heard her say their last name and the nurse said something Jack didn't quite catch, but Valka was off immediately and Jack figured it best to follow.

They took the elevator to the third floor, and Jack followed his mom into room 313. It was a standard hospital room, sporting two unoccupied beds and a couple chairs below the mounted television. They were fifteen minutes early, but it seemed that as soon as they sat down a man in a suit was in the room to greet them. Jack didn't even have time to ask his mother what was going on again.

"Good morning Valka, Jack," the man greeted with a smile. "My name is Adrian Smith. So, Jack, I guess you're wondering why you're here."

"More than a little bit."

"You see Jack, when you were born there was a mix up of names and records. Your record was mistaken for someone else's born on the same day. We noticed the error when we were inputting all of our paper records into our databases as part of an upgrade."

"What?" Jack asked, a dangerous calm in his voice.

"Jack, there's no easy way to say this, but unfortunately, due to a mistake, you were switched at birth." It was almost possible to count down to Jack's explosion.

"WHY DID YOU NEVER TELL ME THIS?" He was directing the question directly at his mother, who had burst into tears. "HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN?"

"She was informed a few days ago," Mr. Smith supplied, clearly seeing that Valka was in no state of mind or emotion to answer. She had lost her husband and found out that her only son wasn't actually her biological child in the period of a few days. The fact that she even agreed to have this meeting so soon was a feat in and of itself. He made a note to watch over her for the next little while and check in on her emotional state.

"How did this happen?" Jack had settled down a little, but he was very clearly still seething.

"It's extremely rare but accidents…"

"Accidents? You've messed up my whole life! What am I supposed to do now?"

"Well if you'd like, the other family will be here shortly. If you'd like and they consent, you can meet them."

"I want that," Jack said before taking his seat and putting his head between his knees in an attempt to stop the spinning. Mr. Smith left the room without another word, and Jack was lost to his thoughts for a solid fifteen minutes.

What would happen now? Who would he be expected to live with? He didn't know these new people, but technically they were blood. And what would happen to his mom? Would her real son be as understanding of this whole situation? Then it hit him: this other kid would have no father. He would never get to meet him. He was so close, but it wasn't close enough. That moment of empathy for the other teen helped sober Jack significantly.

Jack was interrupted by the return of Mr. Smith. Both he and Valka stood up to face the man.

"They've consented to meet you now. All of them. Is that alright with the two of you?" Following two quick nods he continued with, "Let's go then."

Jack expected a far further walk than across the hall, so he didn't have much time to suppress the butterflies flittering around in his stomach. He thought they were going to fly right up his esophagus and out of his mouth, but he managed to keep the feeling from spreading too far as the door was opened.

Jack didn't know what to expect. He didn't expect to see a hospital room devoid of beds, replaced instead by chairs occupied by the people he could only assume were his biological family. But as he took a closer look he realized he recognized the guy with the naturally grey hair. He could also recognize the look of shock in his eyes. As he glanced straight ahead his stomach did a backflip.

"Jack?" came a voice Jack knew all too well.

"Hiccup?"

...

 **My friend and I have a wager as to how many "DUN DUN DUNNNN" reviews I received. I'll let you know who won next time XD**


	9. Chapter 9

**I AM SOOOOOOOOO SORRY! I won't go into too much detail, but basically in the past couple months I suddenly left the province, my computer broke and I lost almost EVERYTHING, I got (and lost) a job, and school started again. I promise the delays shouldn't be this long again...I hope...Oh, and my friend won the bet on the number of 'DUN DUN DUNNN' reviews XD**

 **...**

No one in the room moved or even spoke. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop for the first few moments as the boys stared at each other in disbelief. Of all the people in the room, it was Mr. Smith who spoke up first.

"Alright. You're all ready to leave whenever you'd like. I'll leave some cards on the table in case anyone is interested in talking to anyone here at the hospital. Thank you for coming today." Mr. Smith then proceeded to drop a few pieces of paper onto the small table in the room and walk out the door, sealing it behind him. Hiccup was almost insulted by the lack of apology, but then he realized that an apology in this scenario may have been insulting itself.

The silence remained for another few moments, during which the boys managed to take their seats. The quiet started to move from tense to awkward, and Aster finally found it in himself to break the silence.

"Wow, Jack, what're the odds you'd walk through that door?" was all the university student could say. However it did garner a response from Toothiana.

"Wait, Aster, you know him?" she asked, tears no longer flowing; at least for the moment.

"Yeah, I actually met him yesterday for a few seconds. He was one of the guys Hiccup went out to dinner with, remember?"

Turning to him, she asked, "You're that Jack?" He nodded in response but said nothing.

"You two are friends, yes?" North asked, again receiving a nod from both boys. At that point, Toothiana stood up and made her way over to Valka, sitting on the arm of the couch next to Valka.

"I'm so sorry that you have to go through all of this."

"Don't apologize," Valka said immediately. "This wasn't your fault. I'm Valka by the way."

"I'm Ana, and this is my husband Nick," Toothiana explained, pointing to her husband. "But everyone calls me Toothiana and him North. That there is our son Aster and my brother-in-law Sandy." Valka nodded, but Jack was the next to speak. He had been waiting for Toothiana to finish talking to his mother, not wanting to interrupt.

"So, you're my biological mother?" He asked Toothiana, and she nodded. "And you're my biological father?" North nodded in response. "Wow, it's hard to believe that at 16 I'm meeting you for the first time. I mean…" Jack started, but he stopped when the crushing realization hit him. It appeared that it had hit Hiccup at the same time too, looking around and suddenly having his face drop.

"Hiccup, I'm so sorry you'll never get to meet him," Valka said, managing to fight back her own tears. She wouldn't say his name, not at the moment. She needed to maintain her composure.

The blatant statement caused a chain reaction of realizations among everyone in the room. Stoick would never get to meet his real son, and Hiccup would never get to meet his biological father. Hiccup realized, however, that while it hurt to know that, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. He never really knew the man and had no previous emotional attachment, so while it still upset him it could have been worse. Hiccup spoke to break the new found tension.

"I just feel like I should say that my real name is Hayden. Everyone just calls me Hiccup. When I was taken home I had a case of the hiccups." Hiccup immediately regretted saying the last sentence, realizing that that might be a bit of a sore spot, but no one seemed to catch on or care.

"Which do you prefer?" Valka asked immediately, not wanting to upset her son by calling him the wrong name.

"Either is fine. Maybe just stick with Hiccup for simplicity's sake."

"Hiccup it is then," she said with a smile, or at least the closest thing to a smile she could muster.

Hiccup was fighting an internal battle with himself at this point. He wanted to give Valka, the woman who had brought him into the world, a proper hug, but at the same time he wondered if that would be truly appropriate. After all, he didn't know her at all. He noticed Toothiana seemed to be waging the same war in her head, her arms restless as she spoke to Jack. The conversation slowly began to die down, and North took it as an opportunity to interject.

"I think we should leave hospital. Is not good for anyone to be here. Why don't we all go out for lunch, hm? My treat at Mead Hall?"

No one found a reason to disagree, so Hiccup grabbed Toothless as the group left the room and piled into the elevator to get to the parking structure. When they arrived at the point where they would have to split up between the cars everyone paused and looked at the boys, placing them in the spotlight once more. Aster was the one to speak up this time.

"How about I take the boys, dad you take Sandy, mom you go with Mrs. Haddock?"

"Please, call me Valka," she insisted, and Aster nodded.

"Sound good?"

When everyone started off to their designated rides, Aster took that as a resounding yes. He led the boys silently to his Volkswagen and started it. As he drove, he glanced into the mirror to the two boys who had sat together in the back seat.

"Guys, I'm really sorry about this." They only shrugged, so Aster continued. "Guess it's a good thing you were friends already. Otherwise it might've been even more awkward."

"I guess," Jack responded. "But what happens now?"

"Dunno," was Aster's short reply. "But I'm sure something will get worked out. It always does. But look at it this way, it's like you both have two families now! That's two groups of people looking out for and caring for you. Even if it feels strange at first I'm sure you'll get used to it. I'm the only one with a downside here."

"Oh? And why's that?" Hiccup inquired.

"Because now I have two annoying brothers instead of just one."

The boys couldn't help it; they each let out a smirk.

...

Aster was the first to park in the restaurant's parking lot, and Hiccup momentarily wondered what to do with Toothless. While the cat seemed happy in the car at the moment, Hiccup was worried about what would happen if they were in there for a long time. He didn't think that simply rolling down the windows would be enough either. As it turns out though, Hiccup's worries were for naught.

Toothless awoke as Hiccup opened the rear door, took a look around, and climbed the fence against one side of the parking lot that led into someone's backyard. Toothless started walking along the fence in the exact direction of the house, and Hiccup had a feeling the cat would know where he was going; he was an outdoor cat after all. Who knew how far the cat could go. The cat mewled once before it was off, and Hiccup didn't have any residual worries for the animal. When Jack looked confused, Hiccup explained.

"Toothless is an outdoor cat. He'll be able to find his way home."

"You know, you didn't explain to me why he was named Toothless," Jack pointed out.

"Remember the story I told you about my leg?" Hiccup prompted, continuing when Jack nodded. "Well, Toothless was the one who came to my aid first. Took out that dog all on his own. Lost a few teeth in the process, but I got to keep him and being a kid I named him Toothless."

Jack had no time to make a comment as just then the other cars pulled into the lot. Aster had gone inside almost immediately after parking, and everyone made their way to him. When they were seated inside the restaurant, Jack and Hiccup sat down next to each other and were instantly chatting and laughing. The adults all shared a confused look, but Aster let out a knowing smile that only North saw. He made sure to sit next to Aster, expecting to get an explanation.

"What exactly happened on way from hospital," the man asked in a hushed voice. Aster needed a moment to register the voice, not being able to remember the last time the man had spoken so softly.

"I just had a little talk with them. Nothing big. But I think they'll be good, at least for now."

"Well thank you. You are good brother." Aster took the complement with a smile, returning his focus to the menu.

As Sandy took the last seat next to Toothiana, Jack leaned over to Hiccup.

"Hey, Hic? Who's that over there," he asked, nodding in Sandy's general direction. "He hasn't said a single word all day."

"Oh, that's my uncle…well I guess YOUR Uncle Sandy."

"Hey, don't say that. Remember what Aster said? We're one giant family now," Jack smiled, nudging Hiccup with his shoulder. "But continue. Why hasn't he said anything? Is he ok?"

"Hey, Uncle Sandy!" Hiccup called across the table. "You feeling ok? You haven't said anything all day."

 _"_ _Yes, I'm fine. I just haven't had much to say,"_ he signed, which Hiccup translated for Jack.

When Hiccup nodded Sandy looked away, and Hiccup turned his attention back to Jack. He had to hold in a laugh; Jack looked shocked like he had just been randomly attacked with a 2x4. He closed Jack's jaw for him and shook his head.

"What's wrong?"

"He's…deaf?" Jack asked, incredulous.

"No, but close. He's mute. He can hear us perfectly fine, he just can't speak. Or make any noise for that matter."

"So you know sign language then?"

"Yup. Better than Aster over there."

"I heard that!" the Australian accented student hollered.

"You were supposed to!" Hiccup retorted. He noticed Valka and Toothiana smiling at him, and he cocked an eyebrow in confusion. When they laughed a little Hiccup looked over at Jack, finding he bore the same confused facial expression. When the girls stopped laughing, they explained.

"Valka and I were just talking about how great it is that you two get along." Toothiana explained.

"Yes, it's really making this whole process much easier than it could have been," Valka confirmed. As she finished speaking a larger man with a fake leg and arm and a braided beard walked up to the table, stopping right behind her.

"Valka how are you? It's been a while since you've been in here!" the man said happily and patting her on the shoulder.

"Gobber! I know. I've missed it here. But, you know, with recent happenings…"

"Hush! There'll be no talk of that here! Only happy times!" He glanced up to Jack and called a quick, "Hey Jack! Good to see you again too!" before returning his attention back to Valka. "So, who's the rest of the group here?"

Several pairs of eyes trained on Valka. The entire Frost family was wondering the same thing: would she tell the truth? Was she ready to spread it around already?

"Oh, this is Toothiana and North, their son Aster and North's brother Sandy. You know Jack down at the end there, and next to him is Hiccup." Everyone immediately looked away to avoid being suspicious, but they also all noted that she had specifically avoided mentioning or even implying Jack and Hiccup's lineage.

"Friends of yours?" Gobber asked, eyes sweeping across the table.

"New friends," Valka confirmed, "But they are already like family to me."

"That's great to hear! I hope to be seeing a lot more of the lot of you here! I'll go get Bertha to come take your order in a minute. I've got to get back to the kitchen. I'll talk to you later!" Gobber waved goodbye and headed back into the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind him.

True to his word, Bertha was by a minute or so later. She too greeted Valka and Jack and Valka gave her the same explanation of the group as she had to Gobber. She then proceeded to take their order before leaving them to talk once more. The boys immediately went back to talking, so the adults remained talking amongst themselves. The happier the boys were today, the better for everyone. Plus the adults could learn about the kids from each other.

"Hey Jack," Hiccup asked, catching the boy's attention once more. "I was wondering about something."

"Hm?"

"A while back when I first introduced you to everyone, Fishlegs let slip my interest in dragons."

"I believe he said a _love_ of dragons," Jack smirked.

"Irrelevant," Hiccup stated, but he couldn't help but smile as well. "Anyways, when he said that, I noticed you smiled. What was up with that?"

"I always smile like that," Jack defended, but Hiccup was having none of it. "Alright fine. I may or may not have a _mild_ interest in dragons as well."

"Really? That's cool! What's your favourite species?"

"I like the Polar Serpent personally."

"Wow, you love the cold a little too much. You really are related to dad...North…whatever."

"So which is your favourite species, hm?"

"Definitely the Night Fury."

"Ooh, dark and mysterious. I like it."

"Back off, that's my species," Hiccup cracked with a smile, nudging Jack.

As he did that Bertha and Gobber returned with plates of food, setting them down on the table. The group hungrily dug into their food, and Hiccup definitely noted that they would have to come here more often.

...

The group stayed in the restaurant for four hours, making it almost five o'clock when they walked out the front door. The restaurant had started to pick up for dinner, and the group didn't want to hog the table for longer than necessary. As they got to the cars, everyone paused.

"Valka, I feel like we have much more to talk about, but I feel like this has already been a long day for many of us," North said. "Perhaps we could get together tomorrow at our place to talk? I understand Jack already knows the address." Jack nodded at this.

"I understand. Is ten an acceptable time?"

"That sounds perfect," Toothiana piped up. "We'll see you tomorrow Val."

"Bye Tooth."

Jack and Hiccup looked at each other with a confused look. Their moms already had nicknames of their nicknames? They shrugged it off until they realized they had another moment of confusion: tonight may be obvious, but where would each boy end up living after this whole ordeal was over? Their future living arrangements may be the hardest point of their recent discovery.

...

That night both boys slept in the beds they had for years, but something felt off. It was home, it was where they had always belonged, but it almost didn't feel like it. There was something not right that threw off both of the boys' sleeping patterns. Perhaps it was fact that they learned they were not under the same roof as blood, or perhaps simply the new discovery had rattled them further than they would like to admit; further than they thought it had. No amount of suppressing, no matter how well they had pulled it off during the day, would actually suppress the underlying issue. Perhaps this was not something they could get over as quickly as they had originally thought. And then came the thoughts as to if they would even be sleeping under their current roofs tomorrow night. An uncertain future was always unsettling, and while no one knew it, it was something that was bothering the adults as well.

Both boys attempted to find solace in something, Hiccup in Toothless who was sleeping at the foot of his bed and Jack in his own thoughts, but neither boy had much success. They both passed out in the middle of the night from pure exhaustion, wondering what to expect in the morning.


	10. Chapter 10

Jack knew that they weren't expected at the Frost house until 10am, but his mixture of nerves and excitement forced him awake at 7:30. After a few futile attempts to fall back to sleep he threw the covers off of himself. If he was going to be awake, he might as well do something useful.

After having breakfast in his pajamas and jumping into the shower, Jack sat himself down in the living room to work on his homework. A glance at the clock indicated that it was almost 8:30 at that point.

At 8:45 Jack heard the shower start up once again, indicating his 'mother' was up. She was downstairs and eating breakfast by 9:15, and at 9:45 she joined him in the living room.

"So, you know where they live then?" she asked, clearly trying to strike up a conversation but not exactly knowing how.

"Yeah, it's close. Two minute walk."

"Really? That close? And we've never met them before?"

"They back onto the river."

"Oh, I see. Ooooooh," Valka says, the realization dawning on her. There was silence for a moment or so before Valka spoke again. "Jack, there's something I need to tell you. No matter what happens today, or even with what happened yesterday, please remember that I love you."

"I know." Jack knew that the woman in front of him loved him. After all, she had raised him for the last sixteen years of his life. He was careful not to say, 'I know mom,' though because he still hadn't figured out that whole situation.

"Good. Now I know you said they live really close but I don't want to be late, so why don't we get going?"

Jack hadn't realized just how nervous he was for today until she said that. The worst had already past, the hard news had already been revealed, so why was there a nervous sweat dampening his brow? Perhaps it was the uncertainty that worried him or the fact that today they would no doubt have to talk about how he and Hiccup would join their new families. The very life Jack had become accustomed to over the years may not be the same after today. But Jack put on a brave face and nodded, heading to the door.

As he stood at the door he looked in the mirror, looking at his white hair. He was glad that Hiccup's family…his family…no one from the Frost residence had commented on it. But then again Hiccup's mother…his mother…Toothiana had appeared to be quite colourful herself, so maybe he would even fit in with it. He also realized that Valka had said nothing, which he was also grateful for. As he glanced at the stairs while Valka put on her shoes he caught himself almost expecting his father to come down them, always the last to be ready. He may have changed his hair, but he wouldn't be able to change the memories of this house.

...

The weather was nice that day, and the walk went quickly. As they walked up the street Valka took great interest in the houses, inspecting the unique architecture of each one. They were all so big and different from the subdivision that surrounded them, and she never really took the time to go down this street. When they reached the Frost household, one of the nicest on the block, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"They live in this one? This one here?"

"Yeah," Jack responded, starting to make his way up the concrete driveway. "That is why I'm heading to the door."

"Jack don't you sass me," Valka smiled, following him up the driveway. She admired the rainbow coloured plants as she walked past, wondering how Toothiana had managed to get them all to bloom at this point in the season. She would have to ask. Valka was by no means a gardener, but that didn't mean she wasn't still interested in knowing.

Jack rasped his knuckles on the door, and it was opened within ten seconds. It was Hiccup who had answered, but his entire family was standing in the foyer behind him. He partially wondered if they had been standing there waiting for them, but he found it too irrelevant to ask.

"Welcome to our home!" North boomed from the back of the group. "Come in, come in! Please!"

Jack and Valka made their way in, and Valka managed to keep her ogling of the house relatively discreet. Jack would be lying though if he said he wasn't doing the same thing, never actually seeing more than just the foyer of the residence.

The foyer was large and two stories tall, with a catwalk above it as part of the second floor hallway. The stairs were nowhere to be seen, most likely further into the house. There was a large living room off to the right, and off to the left there was a door that Jack could only assume led into the garage. Straight ahead was a hallway that led further into the house, with several doors and archways that Jack couldn't see around.

They filed into the living room, which was also connected to the dining room. It was painted a deep shade of red, and the furniture was done in dark wood. There were three comfy looking couches in the room, which were all arranged to face the television on the wall. They were quickly filled up by the seven individuals present, Aster, Sandy, and Valka on one, Hiccup and Jack on another, and Toothiana and North on the third.

"You have a lovely home," Valka complemented, still stealing glances at the décor.

"Thank you," Toothiana smiled. "I hope you don't mind that Sandy and Aster are here as well; we figured it wouldn't be fair to not have the whole family involved in such an important conversation."

"Oh, I completely agree." When there was a pause in the conversation, it was Sandy that picked it up again.

 _"_ _I think we should get started,"_ Sandy signed. _"There's no point in putting it off."_ When he realized that Valka and Jack were giving him confused looks, he elbowed North who jumped in to translate.

"Sandy has point. We should start conversation. Let us get down to business."

"Yes," Toothiana agreed. "We've been put into a unique situation. Jack, Hiccup, boys, please remember that everyone in this room loves both of you. And also remember that this is your future and you have just as much say, or even more say, than anyone else in this room."

The boys rolled their eyes in unison, having heard the first part of that sentence several times already. The gesture was appreciated, but by this point they already understood that. They chose to focus on appreciating the fact that they were told that they had a say in everything that was going to happen. When no one started the conversation, it was Aster who had to kick start it.

"Alright, so how are we going to arrange our family, hm? Boys, suggestions?" Aster asked, motioning to the boys.

Jack and Hiccup looked at each other, realizing they weren't exactly sure what they even wanted for themselves. When they just looked back at Aster blankly and shrugged, he shook his head.

"Alright then, suggestions?"

"What if the boys went back and forth between the houses?" Valka asked, looking around the room.

"But then they'd have to keep moving their stuff, or keep stuff at both houses," Toothiana commented.

"And we boys want to move together, or stay separate? And how often is switch?"

"What if we kept things the way they were now?"

"But then that's not fair because the adults would rarely see their biological children."

"What if they both stayed in one house?"

"Then that's not fair to either Valka or to Toothiana and North, who would rarely see them."

The conversation went on for almost two hours, during which the group got nowhere. It came to a halt when North's stomach rumbled so loud that it could have been mistaken for an earthquake.

"Perhaps we break for lunch, hm?" he proposed, and no one argued. They made their way into the kitchen, where Aster and Tooth started making sandwiches for everyone. North turned to Valka and asked, "So, how have you been. Is everything ok?"

"The truth is," Valka said, her voice unsteady but not to the point where it was noticeable, "It's been hard. I've been considering moving. I know it has only been a few days, but the thought of staying in that house, with all those memories, I'm not sure I can do it."

"Jack," Hiccup whispered, "Did you know about this? That she wanted to move?"

"This is the first I'm hearing about it," Jack responded softly, still paying full attention to see where this was going.

"But obviously before I make any decisions, I need to know what is going on with the boys. Our sons are obviously the most important people right now, and I want to make sure that I am not too far away from either of them."

"Wait, so you want to move, yes? And you want to stay close?" North asked, and Hiccup realized North's tone of voice. An idea was forming in his head.

"That would be ideal, yes," Valka responded. "But the other problem is that I don't have a job right now. I have some savings but I fear I might not be able to stay in this area depending on when I can get a job and what it'll be."

"Tooth, dear, may I talk to you in other room for a second?" North asked, quickly glancing around the room before refocusing on his wife. She nodded and followed him into the nearby walk-in pantry, where they shut the door.

Everyone left in the kitchen looked at each other with confused looks. What was so secretive in this situation that it needed to be discussed behind closed doors? Jack was the first to comment.

"So, what do you think…" he started before he was interrupted by a shush from both Hiccup and Aster. Even Sandy raised a finger to his lips. They were all slightly leaning in their chairs, straining to hear what was going on behind the door. When they realized they couldn't make anything out, they gave up.

"Wow, I didn't know dad could speak that quietly," Aster cracked. "Normally his whispering voice is at the same volume as a person talking."

"I know," Hiccup agreed. "It must be big."

"Bigger than his last toy idea for Christmas this year?"

"Oh, nothing is bigger than that," Hiccup said as he and Aster broke into a fit of laughter, leaving the others confused. Jack was about to ask but he was interrupted by his biological parents rejoining them.

"We apologize, we just needed to agree on something," North explained as he retook his seat. Toothiana sat down as well and continued the explanation.

"Valka, we believe that we may have come up with a solution that will benefit everyone. You'll be able to move, the boys will get to stay together, and you'll be close to both of them at all times."

"It sounds too good to be true," Valka responded, almost not believing that there would be such a solution. She listened nonetheless.

"Well, we think it's perfect. Valka, we want you and Jack to move in with us here. Indefinitely."

"I'm sorry?" Valka asked, not sure she was hearing right.

"It's perfect!" Toothiana insisted. "You two move in with us. You move out of your old house, and you get to stay in the area and near the boys. The boys get to stay together, and no one has to move houses on any type of schedule. We definitely have the space. There is an extra bedroom upstairs with its own bathroom; it'd be perfect for you! As long as Hiccup doesn't mind sharing his room with Jack…" Toothiana started, looking over at Hiccup.

"I don't mind if you don't," Hiccup said as he looked over at Jack. He realized that she was right; this would most likely be the best solution they would come up with. Plus his room was big enough that the two of them wouldn't be cramped in any way.

"I'm fine with that," Jack responded. He would be very grateful to get out of that old house. Granted it would be a little odd sharing a room with Hiccup considering they had only been friends for a week or so, but they weren't exactly in a normal situation in any sense of the word. He was pretty sure he would be able to get used to it. Besides, with how intermingled their families had become he was starting to feel closer to Hiccup faster than he would have thought possible, and he had a feeling Hiccup felt the same way.

"So Valka, what do you think?"

 **...**

 **I firmly believe that all parties involved here are able to have a level headed conversation in times of distress and awkwardness.**

 **Now, what do you think Valka should do here? ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm sorry for the wait I promise the next one will be faster please don't kill me...*hides***

 **...**

"I-I don't know what to say," Valka stuttered, mildly shell-shocked by the offer. She had to admit, that was one of the last things she had expected to come out of that exchange. She felt a little pressured with everyone's eyes on her, and she answered quickly. "Thank you for the offer, but I don't want to impose…"

"Impose?" North interrupted. "Nonsense! We insist! You have been brought into our family and we want to keep our family close. Please, it is no trouble at all."

Valka thought on that for a moment, and after a moment of tension so thick you could cut it with a knife she finally smiled and nodded.

"Excellent!" North exclaimed while Hiccup and Jack gave each other a high five.

"I'll have to make some arrangements…" Valka started, but she was interrupted once more.

"And I will be more than happy to help with those in any way I can," Toothiana offered, a smile on her face. Valka couldn't help but smile again.

"So, when can you start move?" North asked, folding his hands on the table. "We would love to have you as soon as possible."

"Well, I guess whenever you'd be willing to let us start moving in. I can put the house up for sale any time I suppose."

"Do you have plans today?"

"Nope!" Jack interjected immediately, still beaming and clearly very excited for this development, even if he too had a shred of nervousness about it buried deep in his thoughts.

"Then we can start now!" North boomed. "I will run to factory with Tooth and get truck, boys you start helping by bringing boxes to house. Everyone understand?" Everyone nodded even though Valka was a little shocked at how fast this was going. Neither Valka nor Jack was going to complain about getting out of that house, however, so they joined the chorus of bobbing heads. "Alright! We will be back in one hour," North estimated, standing up and heading for his car. Tooth followed him, and the others grabbed their shoes and as many boxes as they could carry from the garage.

...

"I can't believe this is going so quickly," Jack said to Hiccup as they walked between the houses, empty boxes in hand. He was literally up and moving out of his house in one day flat. He thought scenarios like that were reserved for apocalyptic zombie or alien invasion movies, but apparently not.

"It's kind of exciting."

"And scary. I mean like I'm literally no longer going to live in the house I grew up in."

"I can understand that. Well, not really because I've always lived at this house, but I understand why it might be scary. But hey, you've got me. Upgrade!" Hiccup joked as he nudged Jack's shoulder. Jack couldn't help but laugh in response. He was glad Hiccup was such a good friend.

Valka let Aster and them in, and they dropped the boxes near the front door. Valka took a moment to brainstorm the best plan of action before fully turning to the boys.

"Alright, your father," she started, assuring she was looking at Aster when she said that, "won't be here for almost an hour with the truck. Obviously that will be used for bigger things like Jack's bed. But for now let's see if we can't use these boxes for clothes and stuff like that and maybe make another trip on foot before they get here." Everyone nodded in agreement and Valka accompanied Aster to her room while Hiccup followed Jack to his room.

When Jack opened the door, Hiccup took the opportunity to check out Jack's room. It was much smaller than his own and much more crowded, housing a desk, a twin bed, and a dresser. The closet was ajar and Hiccup could see a couple of shirts hanging next to a jacket, but what really caught Hiccup's eye was the staff in the corner. It looked like a shepherd's crook, and Hiccup just had to get a closer look.

Jack didn't notice as Hiccup made his way over to the corner and softly ran a hand over the wooden staff. The bark was smooth, and the staff itself was a little taller than Hiccup. He was admiring it for a solid minute before Jack even took notice.

"It's cool, isn't it?" he asked, walking up behind Hiccup. "I just found it in the forest one day. I really liked it so I kept it. It's held up quite well. I've even used it for a Halloween costume or two."

"Wait wait, you just found it? Lucky."

"Yeah, it was. It was near that pond where that little girl disappeared all those years ago." Hiccup sat there staring at the staff for another moment or so before he snapped out of it.

"Alright, so! Let's get started!" Hiccup said, assembling a couple of boxes.

Jack slowly started to fill the boxes with clothes, not wanting to pack anything that he wouldn't end up needing. He had never actually seen Hiccup's room, so he didn't know what his new room would be like. Was it so big that he would need to bring his own lamp? These were the kinds of questions that ran through his mind, and that was the reason he only packed clothes for the first round. Plus they would be lighter than most other things considering they were walking the first time.

When two large boxes had been packed with clothes, the boys brought them downstairs. They were joined not a minute later by Valka and Aster, who had three similar sized boxes between the two of them.

"You boys ready to go?" Valka asked, putting on her shoes when they nodded in agreement. "Then let's go."

"Show off," Hiccup muttered to Aster, who was still carrying two large boxes even as they crossed the main street. He couldn't even see over them, instead having to look around the side, but he refused to show any type of struggle.

"Weakling," Aster muttered back with a smirk.

"Suck up," Jack muttered, earning a surprised look and a smile from both boys.

"I have a feeling he'll fit in just fine," Aster said to Hiccup, causing Jack to smile.

Aster found the flaw in his plan when they arrived back at the Frost residence and he couldn't find a hand to unlock the door. Jack laughed as Hiccup gave him a smug smile and pulled out his own key, balancing his box between the brick wall and his body on his knee. When they were inside Aster showed Valka to her new room, while Hiccup led Jack to theirs.

"Look, Hiccup, are you sure you're alright sharing your room?" Jack asked. "I mean, this has been your private space and now I'm just sort of barging in. If you'd prefer I can just share with..."

"I couldn't ask you to do that," Hiccup interjected. "Besides, I don't think it'll be a problem sharing," Hiccup said just as they arrived at the door. "I mean the room is decently sized and I don't even use the whole space anyways. I mean it even has two closets and I only use one."

 _'Just how large IS Hiccup's room?'_ Jack thought to himself, and he got his answer almost instantly. The room was so large that Jack was surprised it didn't echo, and he had to make a conscience effort not to go slack jawed. It had to be at least four hundred square feet, with windows all along the back wall. Hiccup's bed was pressed into the far right corner of the room, and next to it sat a night side table. His desk was located at the foot of the bed, and that was all of the furniture in the room. His closet was along the right wall, a single door near the same wall as the door into the room. He wondered just how Hiccup fit all of his clothes into a single closet; he didn't see a dresser or drawers anywhere.

By the time Jack had snapped out of his stupor Hiccup had already reached what Jack assumed would be his own closet. He jogged to catch up, an awkward endeavour considering the box he was still carrying, but Hiccup managed to get the door open and disappear inside.

Jack was shell-shocked. The closet was _huge_! No wonder Hiccup could fit all of his clothes into the closet alone. There was a ton of hanger space, as well as shelves galore. The room itself was big enough to get changed in, something that Jack was sure would make their lives much easier. It even came with a light.

"I'll go grab us something to drink," Hiccup offered, standing in the doorway to the closet. "Why don't you start unpacking in the meantime?"

"Thanks," Jack said, opening one of the boxes as Hiccup left. He had all of the clothes that needed to be hung up on the racks and most of the other clothes on the shelves when Hiccup returned with a couple glasses of juice. Jack didn't know what it was but it tasted really good so he didn't complain.

"So, we still have like half an hour until they get here with the truck. What do you want to do until then?" Hiccup asked as they re-entered the main part of the room. Before Jack could answer, however, Aster entered the room.

"Hey guys. So Valka is just unpacking in her new room. It's at the end of the hall in case you're interested Jack."

"Thanks Aster," Jack smiled.

"Now, since you're moving in and we're going to be sharing some living space, there are a few ground rules we need to go over," Aster started. It concerned Jack at first, but when he saw Hiccup roll his eyes with a smile he knew that it would be nothing serious. "First, don't allow any of Hiccup's bad habits to rub off on you. This little devil over here is the bane of my existence and I do not need another one in the house." Jack laughed a little and nodded for Aster to continue. "Second, I am on the other side of that wall, so no funny business. Or at least keep it down," Aster said as he walked out of the room, laughing to himself. Neither of the boys let the other know that a slight embarrassed blush dusted both of their faces at that comment.

...

It ended up taking North almost exactly an hour to get the truck, and Valka, Aster, Jack, and Hiccup quickly returned to the other house when he arrived. They quickly packed up the rest of their clothes, photos, decided what food to keep and what to throw out, electronics, and they also took a television to put in Hiccup and Jack's room. Jack himself had been quite surprised to realize after a few minutes in there that there wasn't already one.

When that had all been unloaded back at the Frost house, the real hard part began: moving furniture. Most of it would stay, either be sold with the house or sold at a yard sale that Toothiana was more than willing to help put on and advertise. North, Toothiana, and Valka agreed that it would be necessary to take Jack's desk, bed, and a small sofa that the boys could put in their room for when they were playing video games together.

While Valka and Toothiana worked on getting the two seater couch out of the front door, North took Jack's mattress down the stairs singlehandedly. That left Aster, Hiccup, and Jack with a frame that unfortunately did not disassemble into pieces.

"Someone remind me why I have to help with the heaviest item," Aster grunted as he bore the weight of the frame. How the boys had tricked him into taking the whole side himself and being the first to go down the stairs he would never understand. He was convinced they had drugged him somehow, or perhaps used hypnosis. "It's not like I'm the one worried about where I have to sleep."

"It's because deep down, you love us," Hiccup said. His voice was slightly strained as he too was feeling the weight of the frame as they maneuvered it down the curved staircase one step at a time.

"Nope, that can't be it."

"Well then maybe it's because if you didn't help Hiccup and I would have had to do it ourselves, and our revenge on you would have been severe," Jack blackmailed, earning a laugh from Hiccup and a grunt from Aster.

"Great, not even living together one day and you're already teaming up on me. Kill me now," Aster moaned.

"That can be arranged," Hiccup responded, and the boys laughed in unison. Aster just scoffed as they finally reached the bottom of the stairs, where North joined them to help them get the frame into the truck.

"Ugh, we're going to have to do that again aren't we," Hiccup asked, and Jack nodded.

"Well, at least you'll gain some muscle," Aster cracked.

"What do you mean? No one would dare mess with all this!" Hiccup exclaimed, gesturing to himself.

"Yeah," Jack piped in, "Because they're too scared they'd shatter you and get sued." Jack and Aster shared a high five and Hiccup stared at them in disbelief.

"Jack, you're supposed to be on my side!"

"Actually I think I quite like him taking my side," Aster said, wrapping an arm around the white haired teen's shoulders.

"Hey hey," Jack said as he dipped out of Aster's grasp, "I'm going to remain neutral if you don't mind. At least for now."

"Excuse me if I have a hard time believing that. When last I checked you'd already taken his side more than mine," Aster said as he hopped into the truck next to North. As Valka was about to lock the door Jack quickly ran back to the house.

"Wait! I forgot something!" Jack said, stopping Valka from locking the house up for the foreseeable future. "Hang on." He ran into the house, and the three remaining gave each other confused looks. A few seconds later, Jack returned with the staff from his room.

"Oh, I thought that was packed already," Hiccup said, silencing what looked like Valka's attempt to object to Jack bringing the object.

"Alright boys," Toothiana said as she opened the car door, "The back seat is full so you two will have to walk. Hope you don't mind!"

"That's ok, we don't," Hiccup responded, even though he knew that she wasn't actually giving them any say in the matter.

"At least it's not far," Jack shrugged, but he cocked an eyebrow when he saw Hiccup's smile. It was the smile that just screamed that he had an idea brewing in that head of his.

"But that doesn't mean we can't walk slowly and let them do a bunch of the work before we get there." Jack smiled at this too and they laughed as they started to walk. A few seconds later, they found their first excuse.

"Hi Jack! Hi Hiccup!" the Bennetts called in unison, running up to the boys. "Cool stick Jack!" Jamie added.

"Hey! Thanks," Jack replied as he ruffled Jamie's hair.

"Jack, what was that big truck doing at your house? You're not leaving, are you?" Sophie asked, a small bit of fear present in her voice. Jack kneeled down before he responded, using his staff as support.

"Well, sort of Soph. But not far. I'm just moving to the other side of that street," Jack said as he pointed. "It's still on this side of the river and it's only two minutes away. Alright?"

"Oh, that's not far. Ok!" Sophie smiled before she returned to her chalk.

"No way! You play SSX too?" Jamie exclaimed, surprising Jack and drawing his attention.

"Yup," Hiccup confirmed with a smile. "We should play sometime." Jamie's eyes lit up when Hiccup said that, and it warmed Jack's heart to see Jamie so happy. Just then the front door opened and everyone looked to find Mrs. Bennett standing in the doorway.

"Mom mom! Can Hiccup come with Jack to baby sit us on Tuesday?" Jamie asked, running up to her and jumping up and down.

"Well, if he and Jack are ok with it I don't mind," she laughed, escorting Jamie back to the boys.

"Sure," Hiccup responded when Jamie looked at him hopefully. Jamie let out a whoop before his mother ushered him back to his bike and turned to the boys.

"Jack, I hope you aren't mad but your mo…Valka let me in on everything that's going on. Hiccup I hope you don't mind either." When both boys shook their heads she continued. "Alright, well, are you still alright to babysit? I mean I can understand if you're not. A lot has happened since I asked."

"It's alright, we'll be here Tuesday at seven," Jack confirmed.

"Alright then. Thank you so much," she said before she ran off to stop Jamie from going too far on his bike. Hiccup and Jack took that as their chance to continue on their way. When they arrived at the house a few minutes later, Aster was fuming.

"Oh, of course you two arrive _right_ after the frame is already upstairs. Dad and I had to do it on our own! You're bloody lucky I was the first one up the stairs."

"Oh calm down Aster," North chuckled. "It was not that bad. Builds muscle! But boys can take care of mattress." Neither of the boys complained, and after they quickly ran the staff upstairs they got to work on the mattress, the night side table, and the rest of Jack's clothes. As they were unpacking Toothless came into the room, providing a momentary distraction until he decided to lie down.

"You know," Hiccup said when everything was finally set up in their now shared room, "This room is now perfectly symmetric. Even Toothless is lying perfectly in the centre of the couch."

"Yeah, it is," Jack noted, looking around and smiling. The only thing left to be set up was the television, but they would have to do that another day. "And thanks again for all this."

"For what?"

"You know, sharing your room. Being so helpful. I mean…"

"It's fine," Hiccup interrupted with a smile. "We're…well I guess I can't really say brothers because there is no actual relationship, but we're more than just friends. We'll find a description for it later." Jack couldn't help but smile, but before he could say anything they heard North bellow from downstairs.

"Boys! Come to kitchen! Is important!" The boys shrugged and made their way down, finding the table full of champagne glasses. Hiccup was confused, seeing as champagne was normally reserved only for Christmas, New Years, and Easter, but North explained.

"Today is an important day," North said as Toothiana gave the boys each a glass. "Today we rewrite the history of both families here, and they merge as one. Jack, Valka, welcome home."

 **...**

 **I feel bad for making you all wait so have something happy and sappy 3**


	12. Chapter 12

**JACK**

When Jack yawned the next morning and opened his eyes, it took him a moment to remember why his room didn't look like his room. The realization came quickly and Jack returned to more important matters, such as rubbing his eyes. He looked over at Hiccup, who appeared to still be sleeping soundly, before he glanced over at the clock. The alarm wasn't set to go off for another ten minutes, but Jack didn't think it was worth it to go back to bed for a mere ten minutes. Instead he lifted himself out of his bed as quietly as he could, then tip-toed across the hardwood floors towards the door. He paused when one of the boards squeaked and immediately checked to see if he had woken Hiccup. He didn't know how Hiccup would react to being roused early, and he didn't want to find out. Fortunately he didn't. He made a mental note of where the squeaky spot was and continued on his way.

Jack made quick work in the bathroom, showering and brushing his teeth in a record seventeen minutes. As he walked back across the hall to his and Hiccup's room, he could hear the alarm going off through the closed door. As he opened it he found Hiccup sitting in his bed, upright but eyes closed and head bouncing to the music.

"It's a good song," Jack commented to alert Hiccup to his presence. Hiccup smiled and opened his eyes at the voice, acknowledging his roommate.

"Yeah, it's one of my favourites. I hope you don't mind that this is the station the alarm was on."

"No, it's fine," Jack reassured with a smile.

"So, Mr. Earlybird over here is showing off by beating the alarm by a whole ten minutes, hm?" Hiccup heckled as he got out of his bed.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Jack apologized, but Hiccup just waved it off.

"It's alright. I was awake anyways. I had been for like five minutes before that, I just didn't feel like getting up. It's not abnormal for me to beat the alarm anyways."

"Oh, well, it is for me," Jack laughed. "Normally an earthquake wouldn't get me out of bed."

Hiccup chuckled before heading for the door, and Jack could only assume he was making a beeline for the bathroom. When the door clicked closed Jack made his way to the closet, selecting what he'd wear for the day.

It was as Jack was picking his clothes that he realized something: today was their first day back at school. So much had happened just this weekend alone, Jack would never understand how everything had lined up into the perfect storm. Now they would probably have some explaining to do when they got back to school, especially since he was pulled out on Friday. He shook his head, electing to cross that bridge when he came to it.

He brought his clothes over to his bed, and he was in the middle of removing his shirt when he heard the door open once more. He didn't know why but he froze when he realized it was Hiccup, the material blocking his face which turned a pale red.

"Oh hey, Jack, I, uh, I just forgot this," was all Hiccup said before the door was closed once more. Jack shook his head at himself and put his shirt back down. He needed to remember that he no longer had his own room and that things like this were going to need to be accounted for. Wondering where he could get some guaranteed privacy his eyes once more wandered back to his closet. Stepping inside he recalled commenting to himself that it would be big enough to change in. Deciding that this is where he would be changing from now on, he closed the door and got dressed for the day.

...

Jack made his way downstairs before Hiccup returned from the bathroom. He wasn't sure if the brunet actually needed this long or if he was making sure to avoid another incident, but he didn't care. As he descended the stairs, momentarily having to think to remember where exactly the kitchen was, he listened to see who else was up. Aster had mentioned last night he had class later in the day so he was most likely sleeping, and he was pretty sure he heard three voices coming from the kitchen, indicating Aster was the only one left sleeping. He then realized that Sandy may still be asleep, but if the man had a job to get to then he was most likely up as well. As he entered the kitchen, his guesses were confirmed.

"Good morning Jack," Toothiana said as she spotted the boy. "I'm making pancakes, is that alright? We also have cereal of you prefer."

"Pancakes are fine, thanks Mrs. Frost. I mean mom, I mean Toothiana, I mean…" Jack stumbled, still not entirely sure what to call his biological mother. He was partially glad his mother had been on her way out of the room when he'd entered so she didn't have to hear that.

"That's alright sweetie. You call me whatever you feel comfortable, alright?" she asked, setting a plate of pancakes and some syrup in front of the boy at the table. Jack smiled in return but did not reply. As Jack dug into his pancakes, Hiccup entered the room as well.

"Morning m…everyone," Hiccup started, stopping himself a little earlier than Jack had. Clearly he was having the same problem, and it made Jack feel better to know that he wasn't alone. Within a few seconds though he was sitting next to Jack with his pancakes, acting like nothing had happened. Valka hadn't had the chance to hear Hiccup's slip up either, as she returned after it with the newspaper.

"So, Hiccup," Jack said between syrupy bites of amazingly light and fluffy pancakes, "What do you want to do about Astrid, Fishlegs, and Ruffnut?"

"What do you… oh," Hiccup said, the realization dawning on him. "Right. Well, what do you think?"

"Well they'll find out eventually, so I figure we should be the ones to tell them. Right?"

"Yeah that's true," Hiccup conceded. He took another bite while he thought of exactly what they should do. "I think the best time is lunch. They'll probably ask about where you went last week anyways."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"You boys do whatever you're comfortable doing," Valka piped in. "Don't let others dictate what you have to do."

"She's right," Toothiana agreed from the other end of the table, giving North more pancakes. "But hurry or you'll be late for school."

"Right," both boys said in unison before finishing their breakfast and heading back upstairs to grab their bags.

 **VALKA**

"You know, they were confused about what to call us when you were getting the paper," Toothiana mentioned after the boys had left for the day.

"I figured they would be," Valka sighed, opening the paper on the table. Toothiana took the seat across from her, finally taking the chance to eat her own breakfast.

"But so I know, what are you comfortable with? For Jack and for Hiccup."

"Well, I never really thought about it. What about you?"

"Personally I don't mind them both calling both of us mom. If they want to that is. What about you?"

"That sounds fine to me. But you're right, we need to let them decide on their own."

"So, what are you reading?" Toothiana asked, effectively changing the topic. It was a change that Valka welcomed; while she had been putting on a brave face this whole situation was still rather rocky for her.

"Oh, just the classifieds."

"Why are you reading those?" North asked, officially rejoining the conversation. He had been uncharacteristically quiet over the last few minutes which had led both ladies to forget he was even still in the room. It was impressive considering the man's stature made him hard to miss.

"Well I'm going to need a job now. I have my expenses and then there's the university fund and rent…"

"Rent?" the Frosts asked in unison.

"Well yes, I mean I wouldn't feel right living here without contributing."

"Is very generous of you, but that won't be necessary," North assured. "You are like family!" He decided to leave out the fact that as soon as he had learned of the whole scenario he had gone out and set up a university fund for Jack. Before she could continue to argue, however, North continued. "But tell me, what did you do before you quit your job?"

"Nothing actually. I mean I worked retail when I was a teenager but when I got married I just sort of became a homemaker. Which was sped along since we had…the baby young." Valka said, treading carefully around the last part of the sentence. She wanted to say Jack originally, but technically she had had Hiccup. "My main marketable skill is cleaning."

"Actually," Toothiana started after a quick glance at her husband, "That would be quite a useful skill around here. I mean I'm at the office most of the day and North works late on a regular basis, and sometimes the house and the cooking get left behind. The number of times a week we order take out sometimes is just terrible! I mean some of that stuff is so loaded with sugar and it ruins our teeth!"

"Of course if you'd rather get a job that is fine too," North added, making sure Toothiana wouldn't go into another one of her dental hygiene rants and to assure Valka she could do whatever she wanted to do to contribute. "We were going to hire someone soon regardless, so if you would like the position it's open."

"Well it would mean less job hunting and I'd get to spend more time with the boys since I'll almost always be here." Valka paused to think for just a second before she said, "I'll do it!"

"Excellent! Then we start interview now," North said, folding his hands on the table. He looked Valka over once and said, "That is what you wear to interview?"

Before Valka could even process a potential response Toothiana had playfully slapped North on the shoulder, and the three of them began to laugh.

"Alright, I've got to do the dishes and run," Toothiana said as she tossed the dishes into the sink. "My first appointment is in an hour."

"Go ahead," Valka said, coming up behind her. "Last time I checked this was my job," she laughed, and Toothiana smiled.

"Thank you!" she said as she made her way to the door. "Maybe now I'll get to get set up and settled in before my first patient!"

"Always a good thing!"

"I'm afraid I must be off now to factory as well," North said, standing up and bringing his plate to Valka. "Thank you again for this."

"No, thank you," she smiled, and North was off with a chuckle.

Valka made quick work of the dishes before she wiped down the counter and table and had everything put away. She spent a few minutes meandering the main floor, seeing what needed to be done. She found a few spots that needed dusting, a couple of rooms that could use a good vacuuming, and the fridge was running low on some supplies. She decided to leave the grocery store for later and found a Swiffer in the front closet.

Her day went pretty normally; if she had been in her old house it would have felt like a normal day by herself with Jack at school and Stoick at work. She tried not to think of those days now, but she envied how much simpler they seemed. Ignorance really was bliss sometimes.

She was meandering they upstairs hallway in her so far unsuccessful attempt to locate a vacuum cleaner when she was startled by a suddenly opened door. She made no sound of surprise, and Aster would barely have even noticed her had he not heard her walking down the hall from inside his room.

"Oh, hey Valka, how are you?" he asked, sealing his bedroom door behind him.

"I'm alright, thanks," she responded, but before she could continue Aster asked another question.

"How'd you sleep? I know it can be rough in a new bed and place for the first time. When I went to Australia I couldn't sleep right for almost two weeks." Valka was touched by the sentiment, appreciating that he actually seemed to care about her rather than adopting a 'whatever' attitude as he had with the boys.

"I slept well, thank you," she smiled.

"Good to hear." When the conversation lulled at that point, Valka asked the question she had meant to earlier.

"Do you know where the vacuum cleaner would be?" she asked, figuring if she was going to get it done in the next hour she was going to need a little direction.

"Oh, it's in the closet at the end of the hall," Aster responded, thrusting a thumb in the general direction. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to miss my train." Aster picked up his bag, which Valka hadn't even noticed at first, and he started to walk off but he was stopped when Valka asked him another question.

"Do you need a lift?"

"No, that's alright, I have my car."

"What about breakfast?"

"I'll have something at school, thanks though!" Aster said, continuing his walk. Valka took three steps towards the closet before she realized something.

"Aster, are you parked in the garage closest or farthest from the front door?" she called, running to the top of the stairs to try and catch him before he walked out of the door.

"Farthest, why?" Aster responded, fortunately not quite out the door yet. Valka made her way downstairs and grabbed her keys from her jacket.

"I'm blocking you in. I'll come move my car," Valka said.

Aster nodded with a smile, and as they walked along the front path he asked, "So, any plans for today?"

"Just cleaning the house," Valka supplied, opening the door to her car while Aster opened the garage. He thought over the sentence before stopping dead in his tracks. Valka moved her car over to the side of the driveway closest to the door so she only blocked the workbenches, and when she got out Aster was sure to add something.

"Hey, just so you know I normally clean my own room so feel free to ignore it." Aster didn't wait for a response before he got in his car, and he drove out of the garage a little faster than normal. He sincerely hoped that she wouldn't go in there, since he had left his tattoo equipment lying out. He hadn't told anyone that he had given himself a tattoo yet, and that was not how he wanted his family to find out.

Valka, on the other hand, stood on the driveway confused as Aster drove down the street. She wondered if he was hiding something in his room, but in the end she decided that she'd respect his privacy.

 **...**

 **Not much to say this time. I hope you enjoyed. Leave a review if you'd like. *shrugs***


	13. Chapter 13

Jack and Hiccup were, shockingly, the first to arrive in the cafeteria with their lunches in hand. They had met at Hiccup's locker before heading down to the lunch room, hammering out the final details of the plan they had agreed upon on their way to school that morning. They'd had plenty of time since they decided to walk, or rather since Hiccup had pushed Jack into it. It had seemed shorter with the company, and Jack figured that perhaps he could bear to walk more often if he was with Hiccup. They had been sitting at the table for only a moment or so when the rest of the gang all arrived together, taking their seats.

"Hey guys. Jack, I see you still have white hair," Astrid said as she took her seat.

"So it's still noticeable?" Jack asked sarcastically, causing Hiccup to choke on the bite of sandwich he had just taken.

"Uh, yeah," Astrid commented, not quite catching the sarcasm in Jack's statement. Hiccup considered it odd seeing as she got so much sarcasm from him that he thought she'd be good at picking it out.

"Darn, and after all my attempts to cover it up," Jack remarked. He received a dirty look from Astrid, which Hiccup realized meant that she had finally caught onto the sarcasm. He would have to make sure to warn Jack to watch out for her wrath later.

"You know," Fishlegs started, finally joining the conversation. "On Friday you never told us why it was you dyed your hair." Jack shrugged.

"Never came up in conversation I guess."

"Yeah, well it came up now so what gives?" Ruffnut demanded, slamming her fist on the table for effect.

"It was kind of a spur of the moment thing," Jack admitted with another shrug. "You see the reason why I was pulled out of school on Thursday was because my dad had a heart attack."

"Oh no, I'm so sorry," Fishlegs and Astrid said in unison. Jack had a feeling Ruffnut would have contributed had her mouth not been full of food.

"Is he alright?" Astrid asked, indicating she either didn't watch the news last night or she just didn't care about it.

"Actually, no. He died." All motion from the three students sitting across the table from him and Hiccup ceased immediately, and had they been alone instead of in the middle of a raucous cafeteria they probably could have heard a pin drop. In order to prevent the silence from becoming awkward, Jack took the liberty of continuing. "And that's kind of why my hair is white. I wanted to get it out of my mind I guess and my hair was my first real opportunity."

"I think it looks cool white," Ruffnut said as she took yet another bite of her sandwich, already almost having it finished.

"Thanks, I like it too. I might keep it this way," Jack said as he ran his hand through his hair. He would have to remember the name of the salon he had gone to; it seemed like they did a good job.

"You seem rather upbeat, for, well, you know," Fishlegs noted.

"Yeah, I got over it rather quickly," Jack lied. While he was moving on slowly and keeping a positive outward experience, he knew that he still wasn't over it on the inside. He decided to change the topic immediately. "But the best part is, that's not even the most shocking thing that happened this weekend."

"Oh?"

Turning to Hiccup, Jack asked, "Would you like to tell them or should I?"

"I think I'll do it," Hiccup smirked, fully smiling when he saw the confused looks on everyone's face. "So, yesterday we received some interesting news. Turns out, Jack and I have closer ties than we thought."

"Hiccup, where are you going with this?" Fishlegs asked, unable to determine any particular direction of conversation. Normally he could tell where a conversation was headed, read the people speaking, practically finish their sentences, but this time was one of the few where he was completely lost.

"Jack and I met at the hospital yesterday, completely by chance. We were let in on a little fact that neither of us were aware about. Heck even our families only just found out about it."

"Hiccup if you don't hurry up and get to the point, my fist is going to hurry up and get to your gut," Astrid threatened, forming her hand into a ball. Hiccup knew that she would never hit him, at least not here and risk getting kicked out of sports for the year, but the threat of disciplinary action meant nothing once they were off school property and Hiccup wasn't too sure Jack would protect him from her. Plus Hiccup knew he couldn't protect himself.

"Alright alright," Hiccup conceded, deciding to cease the theatrics. "Jack and I were switched at birth."

The trio stared blankly at the pair, remaining silent for a solid thirty seconds. They glanced to Hiccup and Jack, still smiling and laughing at their situation. If it was hard for them to grasp, how on Earth could Jack and Hiccup be laughing about this? This was nothing less than a bombshell piece of information. Astrid needed to know.

"How are you two laughing about this? This sounds really serious."

"You'd think," Jack interjected. "But things have worked out in a way that has made it much easier to handle."

"Care to explain?" Astrid more demanded than asked. She was getting impatient, wanting the answers she was seeking without having to keep prodding for them.

"My mom wanted to move out of our house after her husband died. Then there was the whole switched at birth thing," Jack started before he looked at Hiccup to continue.

"Basically to ensure all the parents got to see both of us as much as possible they were invited to move in with us. Jack lives at my place now."

Again, the group was left at a loss for words. Did they apologize for the fact that the families they had grown up with weren't really theirs, or did they congratulate them on their good fortune that everything had worked out the way that it had? Did they give further condolences to Jack, or did they drop the topic seeing as Jack appeared to be in a good state of mind about it? It was Ruffnut who spoke first, speaking the first thing that came to her mind as per usual.

"Well at least you two knew each other and get along." With that Jack and Hiccup looked at each other, nodding in agreement at how fortunate they had been. They'd had the benefit of meeting in advance -albeit not even a week but they had grown close faster than most people would in that week- and they got along well. What if they had hated each other? What if they couldn't stand to even be in the same room? How would the whole situation of their parents and the death even be dealt with? Neither teenager wanted to think about it, nor did they have to. As if on cue, the fire alarm sounded and a few seconds later the teachers on duty were asking the teens to evacuate in an orderly fashion. Hiccup and Jack grabbed their sandwiches but left their trays, eating as they made their way out.

...

"So, do you have a lot of homework tonight?" Hiccup asked Jack as they made their way home after class. Astrid and Fishlegs had already split off at their streets, leaving just the pair to walk the final few blocks.

"Not really," Jack replied, racking his brain for what he had to get done that night. As he was thinking he almost subconsciously turned right instead of left, however luckily Hiccup was half a step in front of him. "Just some math. Not looking forward to that. I don't really get this chapter. What about you? A lot of homework?"

"Oh, I can help you with the math," Hiccup smiled. "I've already finished the whole unit. But I have some English work I have to get done. That will not be fun."

"Oh is it that stupid exercise where we have to discuss the underlying themes in the past two chapters?" When Hiccup tapped his nose twice, Jack added, "I can tell you exactly what she's looking for. I already have it done."

"That'd be great," Hiccup smiled, turning to walk up the driveway. Again he started to head for the garage, but he changed his mind last minute and went to the front door. He figured he should probably just take a couple more days off from his tinkering before ditching Jack at the door to make sure that Jack got comfortable being in and around the house. While he hadn't said anything, Hiccup couldn't help but notice how stiff and guest-like Jack had been acting that morning over breakfast.

"You know, it's actually kind of convenient that we can help each other out with our weaknesses in school."

"I guess it's another benefit of our current situation to add to the list," Hiccup laughed, and Jack nodded.

"Should we get started now?" Jack asked, tossing his bag onto his bed and opening the zipper when they entered their room.

"Sure, might as well," Hiccup concurred, opening his own bag as well. They pushed their desks together in order to make helping each other easier, and slowly they both worked through their homework with help from the other.

...

"Finally done," Jack said about an hour later, stretching his back out as he leaned back from the desk. "What time is it?"

"Um, about five," Hiccup said as he checked his watch while finishing the final details on his English assignment. "I wonder when dinner is."

"It's in an hour," Valka said, by fluke happening to be walking by in the hallway just outside the door as Hiccup made the comment. The boys laughed at the situation before trying to figure out what they were going to do to kill time for an hour.

"Video games?" Jack suggested.

"Mario Kart?" Hiccup proposed.

"You don't stand a chance."

...

"What was that you said earlier?" Hiccup asked with a smug tone of voice, finishing comfortably in first place after nearly ten races.

"I let you win," Jack lied, noting his third place total finish. "I play with Jamie and Sophie, so I have to let them win. I guess that's just become habit for me." Hiccup was buying none of that, and he shook his head with a smile at Jack's excuse.

"Come on loser, let's head downstairs for dinner. It should be in a few anyways." Jack had no reason to argue, so he followed Hiccup down the stairs. They noted that neither North nor Toothiana were back yet, which Hiccup knew was unusual for a Friday, but he was expecting them any minute. When they walked into the kitchen, Valka was the only one there and she was in front of the stove. She was stirring one of the pots she had going, adding in what were probably the finishing touches to dinner.

"Hey mom," both boys said before stopping to look at each other awkwardly. They both turned red out of embarrassment, unable to stand looking directly at each other longer than a split second. Both boys had slipped up, and they had just done it in front of each other and at the same time. Jack had said it because of force of habit, while Hiccup had been considering trying it out but didn't mean to do it so soon. Fortunately for the both of them Valka piped up almost instantly.

"Oh, boys! There you are! I was just about to ask you to set the table. Would you mind?" As they silently got to work, she continued at a slightly quieter tone in case Aster was lurking around. She had heard him come in an hour or so prior, but he had gone straight upstairs and he could walk in any minute. "Boys, Toothiana and I actually had a talk earlier today about this exact situation. Obviously you two have to decide on your own, regardless of what the other chooses. But we are perfectly comfortable with you both calling both of us mom." As Valka said this even she realized more and more how right it would be. They were both her boys and while she had only recently met Hiccup, she still felt immense love for him. It wouldn't be fair to restrict one of them from calling her mom. Any concerns Valka had left about the situation had officially dissipated, and upon hearing this the boys were put slightly more at ease about the whole situation. Maybe now it wouldn't be so awkward since apparently both Valka and Toothiana were comfortable with whatever.

About a minute and a half later, Toothiana and North walked in the front door in unison. They were laughing, most likely at a joke made outside the door, as they made their way into the dining room. As they entered the room, Sandy too came through the front door.

"Valka, that smells amazing!" North boomed, taking a seat at the table as Hiccup brought the last pot out from the kitchen.

"It always does. I fear for your stomachs," Jack whispered to Hiccup with a chuckle before Aster walked right between them, pushing Hiccup backwards playfully and taking his seat at the table. As the group sat down and started to take their food, Jack continued to internally laugh. He took what he knew would be safe, having learned over the years what the woman could and couldn't cook properly, before watching everyone else dig in first. Valka saw exactly what Jack was doing, but little did he know that this time she had a secret weapon.

"This is incredible! It's done perfectly!" Toothiana said after a few bites of the roast, and Valka smiled and sent a glare in Jack's direction. As the others hummed in agreement, Sandy giving a thumbs up to the chef, Jack took a bite of his own small piece and found that it was, in fact, delicious. He gave her a questioning look, and she was more than happy to provide a veiled answer in the form of gratitude to Toothiana.

"Thank you! I actually got this recipe out of one of your cookbooks on the shelf," Valka stated, and Jack very nearly facepalmed. How had he never thought to get her a cookbook over all those years? Valka saw his frustration and laughed quietly. While the others looked around at each other, confused as to the unsaid conversation going on between the two, no one elected to speak up.

...

Not too long after dinner, the boys returned to their room where they simply lazed around for a couple hours. The television remained off, the video game console blinked its red light, computers were shut down and the ceiling fan spun slowly on the ceiling. As Jack glanced over at the calendar on the wall, a realization hit him. It was Monday, and tomorrow was Tuesday.

"Hey, Hic," Jack prompted, partially to get the boy's attention and partially to see if he would object to Jack's use of the nickname. Jack noted that Hiccup didn't seem to care as he grunted his recognition, and he continued. "Tomorrow is Tuesday, and remember I have to babysit the Bennett kids. Do you still want to come?

"Yeah sure, why not?" Hiccup realized that it would probably either be that or tinkering in the garage, and while he did miss his workbench perhaps some more time off would give him even more inspiration when he returned.

"Alright. In that case we should get to bed sooner rather than later. Those kids will suck the energy right out of you," Jack laughed as he got up from his bed to go get changed. As he made his way to the closet he called over his shoulder, "And try not to snore tonight, would you?"

"What? I don't snore!" Hiccup defended. "That was you!"

"Then how did your snoring wake me up?"

"Clearly your own snoring woke you up!"

"Whatever you say Hic," Jack pseudo-conceded. "Whatever you say."


	14. Chapter 14

It was after dinner when the boys returned to their room on Tuesday, preparing to baby sit the Bennett children. Jack had told Hiccup that he normally brought a couple of board games over since Jamie and Sophie had a larger electronic game stash than physical game collection, and today especially most video games would be out since there would be a last minute addition to the party.

As it turned out, the Bennetts were going out with Snotlout's parents, and Snotlout would be at a friend's for the night. They had arranged a baby sitter for Adelaide, however the sitter had backed out at the last minute. Instead of forcing the adults to cancel their plans, of course Jack had volunteered them to watch Adelaide as well.

"There, I think four should be enough," Hiccup said, shoving the fourth game into the largest compartment of his backpack. He smirked at Jack who had said that he wouldn't be able to make it work.

"I still don't understand why we can't just split up the games between both of our bags," Jack commented, returning his bag to the corner.

"It's easier this way," Hiccup insisted. "This way we only have to think about one bag." As Hiccup said that he lifted his bag onto his shoulder, after which he was greeted by a loud ripping sound and several mini crashes.

Jack had to sit down on his bed he was laughing so hard. He found it hard to breathe for a moment or so, clenching his side in a futile attempt to ease his mild cramping pain. Hiccup inwardly cursed, picking up the games and all of the mini pieces that had somehow made it halfway across the room. He canvassed the floor on his hands and knees, not wanting to lose the pieces for any game and render it potentially unplayable. As Hiccup grabbed the last piece for Sorry and returned it to the box, Jack finally ceased his laughter and stood up.

"Well, I guess now we're taking my bag," Jack said, retrieving his own backpack. He managed to fit all of the games in without it ripping, and they started on their way.

The evening air was warm, and by this time of month all of the colder days were most likely behind them. Pretty soon it would be t-shirt weather for a few months, something Hiccup eagerly awaited. Jack glanced at the time on his watch, realizing that they would be a few minutes late arriving at the Bennett's. He felt bad and picked up the pace, even though they were only behind by a minute or so.

"I hope Snotlout hasn't rubbed off too much on Adelaide," Hiccup commented as they crossed the street. "That seems like it would be quite a handful."

"I think it'll be fine," Jack assured as they approached the driveway. "I mean Jamie and Sophie are always really well behaved, so even if Adelaide acts up she should be the only one."

Hiccup was unable to provide a response, partially because he didn't have one and partially because Jack had just rung the doorbell. They didn't even have to wait ten seconds before the door flung open, four adults standing on the other side.

"Jack, Hiccup, perfect timing," Mrs. Bennett welcomed, stepping aside to allow the boys in. "These are Adelaide's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jorgenson."

The boys shook the adults' hands, and after quick farewells the adults were off. The boys followed the sound of laughter to the finished basement, where the children were presently engaged in a Mario Kart showdown. The boys watched quietly from a distance as the race finished.

"No fair!" Adelaide pouted, you two teamed up on me.

"Jamie made me do it!" Sophie yelled, dodging her brother's playful shove.

"Did not!" he retorted, getting up and chasing her around the basement. Adelaide laughed at the display of sibling rivalry, and that gave Hiccup hope that maybe she wasn't the terror he knew that her brother could be.

"Play nice you two," Jack scolded, but there was no bite to his words. His smile gave away his amusement at the situation, and it only grew when the Bennett children ran up and hugged him. As they pulled away from Jack, Jamie noticed Hiccup behind him and smiled.

"Hiccup! You came! Come on," he said, grabbing the teen's hand and pulling him towards the television. "I need to beat you at SSX."

"Well, you can try," Hiccup said with a smirk, only encouraging Jamie further. Jamie started to change the game in the console, and while he did that Jack approached Adelaide.

"How about me, you, and Sophie start a game of Sorry?" Jack offered, and Adelaide smiled. She made her way over to the table while Hiccup and Jamie started their first race down the digital mountain.

...

Jamie won the majority of the contests between Hiccup and himself, and there were a lot of them. By the time they stopped Adelaide had already won two full games of Sorry, to which Sophie and Jack were both pouting. Hiccup would love to admit that he had taken it easy on the boy, that he had let him win because he wanted to let Jamie have a victory, but that would be a complete and blatant lie. Jamie had destroyed Hiccup, even with Hiccup giving it everything he had after he realized just how good Jamie was. He would never allow himself to admit it to Jack, lest he be subjected to the endless heckling that would most likely ensue.

"That was fun," Jamie said as they turned off the console and made their way over to the board games. "You're really good."

"You too," Hiccup admitted, giving the boy a pat on the shoulders. Jamie shook it off with a smile before running ahead and grabbing his favourite spot at the table. Hiccup took the final remaining seat, a folding chair that had clearly been an afterthought at the table designed for four.

The group barely got through half a game of Snakes and Ladders when the sound of the door opening could be heard upstairs. All five people in the room looked over to the clock in disbelief, discovering that it was nearly 11:00 at night. The adults all descended into the basement and the children all broke rank to go greet their parents. Jack and Hiccup immediately started to pack up, shoving the board games back into the Jack's backpack.

"Thank you so much again boys," Mrs. Bennett said as the children and the other adults made their way up the stairs.

"It was no…" Jack started as he shoved the last game into the bag, hearing a loud ripping sound for the second time that day as he did so. "Problem," he finished, followed by a muttered, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Oh no, Jack, did your bag rip?" Mrs. Bennett asked, a look of concern washing over her. He lifted his bag and sure enough the boxes fell out of the bottom. Fortunately they did not open and spill their pieces as they had back at home.

"Looks like it. I guess we're carrying these back by hand Hiccup," Jack said, picking up the boxes. "I can't believe we both ripped our bags today." Mrs. Bennett looked over at Hiccup with a confused look.

"Did your bag rip too Hiccup?" she asked and in response he nodded.

"Yeah, it ripped back at our place before we left. I guess we'll have to go get new ones."

"Hang on a second boys," Mrs. Bennett said before running up the stairs, leaving behind two confused teenagers. They made their way up the stairs as well, but they remained at the front door until she returned. "Here, for new bags," she said, attempting to hand them each a fifty dollar bill.

"Oh no, we couldn't," Jack and Hiccup both said in near perfect unison, refusing to take the bills from her hand.

"Now Jack, you've never accepted anything when I've asked you to babysit the kids, so the least I can do is buy you two some new backpacks. Besides, all of the kids said how this was the most fun night they've ever had so you deserve a little something. If nothing else consider this a back payment for what I owe you."

"Really, it's alright," Hiccup piped up. "Our parents will just buy us new bags. They've known about my bag for a while so they were just waiting for this to happen."

"I insist," she said, pushing the money at them once more. "Don't make me call your parents."

Eventually the boys took the money, not because of the empty threat but because she had really insisted. They walked back to the house, each holding two games, and when they got inside the main floor was already quiet. It wasn't unusual for everyone at the house to turn in early, and so the boys made their way upstairs quietly. They were halfway to their room when a familiar sound hit Jack's ears.

"Hiccup, are you snoring while you're awake?" Jack asked incredulously.

"What? No! What are you talking about?" Hiccup demanded. Jack said nothing but pointed his finger upwards, causing Hiccup to listen as closely as he could. Sure enough a faint buzzing sound filled the hallways, coming in short but consistently spaced intervals. A few seconds of listening and Hiccup had to work to keep a laugh in. "That's not snoring Jack."

"Then what is it?"

"Aster's tattoo equipment."

"Is he giving a tattoo in there?" Jack asked, shocked to the point where he forgot the cap on his volume. Hiccup quickly shushed him and jerked his head to indicate they should go into their room to continue the conversation.

"OK, share," Jack said as they set the games down. Their entry had aroused Toothless who immediately came over to the pair, seeking attention. He first made his way over to Hiccup, who started scratching behind his ear and along his neck subconsciously.

"Aster has been giving himself a tattoo. Mom doesn't exactly approve, but he's doing it anyway. He does it at night after she's asleep or when he's home alone to avoid getting caught. He saved up for nearly a year to be able to afford that equipment.

"Would it not be safer, quieter, and more discreet to just go to a shop and have it done?" Jack asked, not quite understanding the logic of the situation.

"He wanted to do it himself. He's stubborn, plus he didn't want to risk someone messing it up. He's got quite the artistic side. Personally I think he's more likely to mess it up than a professional though." There was a pause, but then Hiccup's eyes lit up in a way that could only mean trouble. "Hey, want to pull a prank on Aster?"

"What're you thinking?" Jack asked, not denying his desired involvement. Hiccup said nothing, simply getting up and running over to his desk. Toothless meowed at the loss of attention and made his way over to Jack who immediately picked up where Hiccup had left off. Hiccup rummaged through a drawer for about ten seconds before he finally smiled and help up a marker. Jack cocked an eyebrow, not quite catching on.

"Aster doesn't know that I know about his equipment. After some snooping I discovered that this is the exact colour of ink he's using in his machine. So, would you like a temporary tattoo or shall I?"

Jack couldn't help but smile. He didn't know how this was going to play out or how Aster was going to react, but he did know that he most definitely wanted in. He took the marker from Hiccup and immediately started drawing on his left wrist. He needed only a moment or so to complete the intricate snowflake design, and Hiccup had to admit that he was impressed with Jack's artistic skills. Jack stood up when he was done and Hiccup nodded.

"Alright snowflake," Hiccup started, but Jack cut him off.

"You are not calling me that from now on," Jack scowled.

"Too late," Hiccup nearly sang. Jack would set the boy straight later, but right now he just wanted to have a little fun at Aster's expense.

The boys crept quietly across the hall, waiting for the buzzing of the needle to stop before they entered. They didn't want to startle Aster and have him mess something up; they weren't that mean. When the buzzing stopped once more Hiccup opened the door and Aster looked like he was about to jump out of his skin as he threw the needle gun into a nearby drawer. He calmed slightly and then angered when he realized who it was.

"Haven't you buggers ever heard of knocking?" Aster demanded, his stressed whisper indicating his anger at the intrusion. Even with the dim light radiating solely from behind him they could both clearly see the scowl present on his face.

"We were just investigating the buzzing noise," Hiccup said innocently. "What have we here? Weren't you forbidden…"

"Oh shut your trap," Aster interrupted, his annoyance clearly not dissipating.

"Well clearly we can't do it now," Hiccup said to Jack with a dramatic sigh. "We'll have to come back later."

"What're you talking about?" Aster demanded, falling perfectly into the boys' trap.

"Oh you see we gave Jack here a little tattoo on his wrist with your equipment," Hiccup said, lifting Jack's wrist and showing off the drawn on snowflake. The dim light was actually perfect for the teens, preventing Aster from seeing it properly. "We wanted to add a finishing touch but clearly now is a bad time."

"You what?" Aster nearly yelled, only barely keeping his vocal volume in check. He moved faster than either of the boys could have expected, pushing Hiccup out of the door as he grabbed Jack's wrist.

Aster's face paled nearly entirely, and both boys made sure their expressions remained entirely stoic. They would have sworn that they saw moisture begin to form on Aster's forehead and they loved every moment of it. Aster released Jack's arm for just a moment to pace, but he grabbed it once more a few seconds later.

"When the hell did you boys even do this? Oh man I am so screwed if mom finds out about this." Aster inspected the snowflake closer and sure enough the mark was the same colour that he had been using on himself just seconds ago. He rubbed his hand over the mark as if trying to will it off, yet the snowflake remained. Well, it almost remained. As Aster lifted his hand he realized that there was a grey smudge on his palm. Holding it closer to his face he made a sudden realization that it wasn't tattoo ink but rather marker ink.

The look that he gave both boys was nothing less than murderous. All of the colour that had previously drained from the university student's face came raging back, plus some. His breathing became quick and shallow and Jack would have sworn he saw a vein appearing in his neck.

"Run," was all Aster said, and the boys didn't need to be told twice. They sprinted back to their room, but after the door was locked it took them a solid five minutes to stop laughing. Clearly they would have to watch out for Aster's revenge over the next few days.

There was no more buzzing from Aster's room that night.


	15. Chapter 15

As the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months, the anniversary of that fateful weekend snuck up on everyone without them even realizing. As the time passed Hiccup could see Jack and even Valka becoming more accustomed to living in their shared accommodations, to the point where it legitimately seemed like they were willing to call their new house a home. Valka had become akin to a godsend to North and Toothiana, helping the house run more smoothly than ever and removing immense amounts of stress from their lives. Jack and Hiccup had grown closer as well, coming to consider each other best friends. Granted the situation was accelerated and quite possibly expected to occur given their close living quarters, but the pair had really grown close and still teamed up to give Aster a hard time. Aster himself was always a good sport, quite enjoying when he managed to get the two boys at once with one of his usual quips or practical jokes. The only real change with Aster was that he seemed to be looking at the boys differently over the past couple of months, seemingly observing their actions rather than just seeing them. Valka had even spotted him several times lingering outside of the boys' bedroom, peeking through the crack in the door or listening through when it was closed. She was the only one to notice this, but she never thought anything of it; she supposed he was just always looking for a way to prank them.

It was the Saturday that marked the exact one year anniversary of Jack and Valka moving in that something changed within the dynamic of the household. The change had been occurring over a month or so, but that was the day when the floodgates opened and realization occurred for both parties.

...

"Hey Jack, come check this out!" Hiccup called from the living room. Jack was in their bedroom, surfing the internet on his computer, but he closed the lid and made his way towards the stairs.

"Hurry up! You'll miss it," Hiccup called, indicating that it was something on television that he wanted Jack to see. Jack kicked it into high gear, taking the stairs two at a time as he descended. Unfortunately he wasn't as careful as he should have been.

Half way down the stairs, Jack only hit the edge of the step and slid off the end of it. He slipped faster than he could catch himself or even realize something was wrong, and he flipped as he descended the last few stairs on his back. At the sound of the banging Hiccup came running from the living room, asking what was wrong but stopping mid-sentence when he found Jack lying backwards at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh my gods Jack!" Hiccup yelled, immediately running up to Jack but not touching him in case he had a spinal injury. "Jack, can you hear me?" Hiccup asked, concerned that Jack's eyes were closed.

"Uh huh," Jack moaned, nodding his head. He had a throbbing headache and he felt sore all over, but as he managed to push the pain aside he discovered that he was still able to move anything without severe amounts of pain. He knew that there was still the chance that he had broken something, that an adrenaline rush was preventing him from feeling some of the pain for the moment, but he had the sense of mind to know he should get to his bed before that very rush ended.

"Jack, can you move everything? Do you think anything is broken?" Hiccup asked, wanting to help Jack but not wanting to touch him in case something was wrong.

"I'm fine," Jack assured, his voice a little strained. "I'm just in pain. Help me back up the stairs, would you?" Hiccup helped Jack sit up and get to his feet, and they stood there for a solid minute before Jack was ready to attempt the stairs.

"Jack, which arm is less sore?" Hiccup inquired before he would help the white haired boy up the stairs.

"Um, my right?" Jack responded, not quite understanding the relevancy of the question. He understood when Hiccup made his way around him and slung his right arm over his shoulders, and slowly they climbed the stairs one by one. They had a steady pace going, a little under a stair every two seconds, but while Hiccup was focusing solely on each step Jack's attention was on his best friend. As the brunet helped him up the stairs, Jack realized that the feelings he was currently experiencing weren't simply gratitude for the help. He felt an odd internal sensation at his friend's contact, like he didn't want it to end. Even as Hiccup helped him lie down in his bed and left to go get him some water Jack still didn't understand, but he realized that he did miss the closeness and the contact that they had just experienced. It hit him as he sipped his water and Hiccup sat with him explaining that their mom –Valka he specified– would be home in a few minutes: Jack was developing a crush on his best friend.

As much as he didn't want to admit it to himself at first, he realized that it was the only logical answer. His lingering glances, his desire to make sure the boy was always happy, it all led to his conclusion. Jack could only hope that Hiccup hadn't noticed, or if he had that he wasn't weirded out by Jack's actions as of late.

...

As Hiccup sat next to his best friend, he remained silent for a moment or so before he found the ability within him to speak once more.

"Jack, I am so sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't told you to hurry…"

"Shush," Jack interrupted as he removed the water glass from his mouth and reached to put it back on the bedside table. Hiccup took it from him to rest it there, and while Jack was perfectly capable of resting it there himself he decided not to say anything but simply appreciate the gesture. "This wasn't your fault. Plus I'm not really hurt so there is no need to assign any blame anyways."

"Thanks Jack," Hiccup smiled, glad that his friend wasn't blaming him for the accident. Jack leaned forward as if to give Hiccup a hug, but as he moved he instantly retreated from the pain that shot up his back. He hissed in pain and Hiccup stood up immediately, an involuntary reaction to the sudden event.

"There you are!" Valka nearly screamed as she entered the doorway to the bedroom. She ran up to Jack and embraced him in a hug which earned another hissed complaint, but this one went unheeded. She let go quickly, turning her attention to her biological son. "And you Hiccup? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine mom," Hiccup assured, "I just helped Jack up the stairs after he fell."

"Alright, well, you two stay here. I'll go make you a snack," she said as she ran out of the room. Neither had the heart to tell her that they weren't hungry, so they just chuckled lightly.

"She has definitely picked up some of mom's –Toothiana's– traits since we moved in," Jack commented, earning another laugh from Hiccup. As Hiccup laughed he saw Jack smile, and he realized just how much he liked it when Jack smiled. It was so genuine, so caring, like he really just wanted to make others happy and laugh. They sat there wordlessly for a minute or two until Valka returned with a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She fussed over them for a moment longer before retreating once more, promising that she was just downstairs if they needed her again. She even told them that she would bring them up a few plates for dinner when the time came. Even though nothing had happened to Hiccup and Jack was fairly certain that he would be fine by the time dinner rolled around in a couple of hours, neither boy complained that they had been given an excuse to hang around together in their room and have food brought to them for the rest of the day.

It had been an hour from Valka's last visit when a near eardrum shattering scream came from the main floor. The boys were sitting on the couch playing a video game when it rang out, and they both dropped their controllers out of surprise. Before they could even question what was going on, Toothiana had run up the stairs and burst into the room, looking for her boys.

"There you two are! Are you alright? What happened? Are there any injuries? Do you need anything?" she asked in such rapid succession that neither of them even had the chance to pipe in.

"We're fine," Jack assured with a laugh, remembering the previous comment of how she had rubbed off on Valka. "Don't worry, everything is alright."

"Alright well I'll make sure to send your father up with some food for dinner. You two just sit and relax," she said as she closed the door. The boys smiled and shook their head; this was turning out to be the best day ever.

"One of us will have to fall down the stairs more often," Hiccup joked, and Jack laughed at the situation.

"Yeah, well next time it's your turn."

"We'll see," Hiccup said, picking up his controller once more.

"I'm actually going to take a shower," Jack announced, standing up from the couch. He cringed a little, still feeling soreness within his lower back, but the pain was nothing compared to earlier and he barely even noticed it anymore. Hiccup immediately stood again, worried for his friend, but Jack calmed him with a motion of his hand and a smile. Hiccup nodded in recognition and meant to return to the video game, at least until another voice came from the door.

"Aww, that's cute. Still worried about him? I don't think I've ever seen you jump up so fast Hiccup," Aster remarked as he leaned on the door frame. His arms were crossed and he had a smug grin on his face. When neither boy said anything, he continued. "Must be nice to have all this time alone together, having things brought to you."

"Ugh, what do you want Aster?" Jack asked, but Aster merely threw his hands up in surrender.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm going back to my room now. I just thought I'd check in on you but I didn't want to be around when mom was." Aster walked back to his room, and the boys just gave each other a shrug. As Jack left the room for his shower, Hiccup decided he was determined to make it to the next level of the game that night. He had been trying for days, and he had a good feeling at the moment.

...

Twenty minutes later Hiccup gave up, his good feeling gone. He hadn't made it, but he was determined that he was going to get it within the next few days. He would do whatever it took; it was the last level he was trying to get to and he would not be bested by whatever company made the Trauma Centre series! He heard the door open, and he rightfully assumed that it was Jack returning from his shower.

"Hey, Hic? Have you seen that blue hoodie I always wear? I can't find it for the life of me," Jack said, walking over to his side of the room.

"No sorry I…" Hiccup started as he sat up, catching a glimpse of Jack only a few metres away. He was lucky Jack wasn't looking towards him at that moment or he definitely would have been caught staring. When had Jack gotten all that lean muscle? He didn't work out as far as Hiccup knew, so where had it come from? He actually looked really good, and Hiccup quickly averted his eyes when Jack turned to face him.

"What was that?"

"Oh, sorry I was just saying that I haven't seen it." Hiccup willed the heat in his face to dissipate, but with little success knowing what was standing shirtless literally right there. He prayed to every god he could name that Jack didn't notice the sudden redness of Hiccup's cheeks and face that would rival even North's long winter coat. He walked over to his bed, away from Jack, so that he wouldn't have to face him.

"Here it is!" Jack announced, finding it under a pair of jeans on the back of his desk chair. "I'll be back, I need to go do my hair."

Hiccup remained wordless as Jack left, but he did get up and start pacing the room subconsciously. Where had that feeling come from? After all, he had seen Jack shirtless before, so why was it suddenly affecting him now? Why was he suddenly paying attention? He stopped dead in his tracks when the realization hit him, and all of the colour that still rested in his face drained almost instantly. He had feelings for his best friend. As much as he didn't want to admit it at first, it made perfect sense. The sudden bashfulness of seeing him shirtless, the way he noticed every time Jack smiled and how amazing he looked, the way that he always wanted to make sure Jack was happy, it all went above and beyond what a normal best friend would want for another. Now he really had to hope that he hadn't made himself too obvious over the past however long it had been. What if Jack knew? What if Jack found it weird and he was just covering it up? Hiccup sat on his bed, trying to gather his whirlwind of thoughts.

 **...**

 **Here, have some sudden realizations after a long gap. Sorry about that...**

 **Also, the person that the following is directed to knows exactly who they are:**

 **OK YES TECHNICALLY IT WAS JACK FIRST YOU WERE RIGHT ARE YOU HAPPY?!**


	16. Chapter 16

Neither teenager said anything the next day, or at any point that week. However, whether they recognized it or not, their actions around each other had started to change. Hugs lasted a few seconds longer; glances lingered even longer than they had before.

Over the days that had past, the boys had also unknowingly had the same conversations within their own heads. They were as close as brothers. They called the same women "mom". They were best friends. But that was also what kept them from dropping the idea: they were just friends. There was no relation there, which may have been part of the reason that they had started to become attracted to the other in that way. But both were too scared of ruining what they had to say anything. They shared friends, a house, and a room. If things became awkward for them, how would they cope? It was especially problematic for Jack, knowing that when push came to shove he was still sleeping in Hiccup's room. It didn't matter how much Hiccup had told him that it was his room too, Hiccup was there first and so if something happened Jack knew he would be the one sleeping in the basement.

It was the second week after their realization when their friends started to notice. Jack and Hiccup had left lunch early, running off to ask the English teacher a question about the homework assignment that not even Fishlegs could understand what exactly was to be submitted.

"Hey, have you guys noticed anything different about Hiccup and Jack?" Astrid asked, putting her white plastic fork down on her tray. The pasta today tasted like it was at least three days old and she wasn't in the mood to finish it.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I have," Fishlegs noted, also returning his fork to his tray.

"It's kind of weird," Ruffnut commented, stuffing her face full of pasta. Apparently she either had no sense of taste or she really could eat anything. Astrid partially envied and was partially disgusted by her stomach of steel. "You going to finish that?" she asked, pointing to the pasta in front of both Astrid and Fishlegs when she finished her own. Both parties immediately pushed their tray across the table to her, and Ruffnut grinned like a child on Christmas morning before digging in like she hadn't eaten in a week. It made Astrid and Fishlegs grimace a little.

"What do you think it is?" Fishlegs asked, clearly oblivious to the situation as a whole. Astrid was thinking of a way to tactfully inform Fishlegs of her suspicions, but Ruffnut beat her to it with a mouthful of pasta.

"The dorks have fallen for each other. They've been head over heels for at least a week but neither will admit it," Ruffnut said, surprising Astrid as to how observant to the situation she had been. She hadn't expected her to catch on to that much to be quite honest, but she refused to vocalize her surprise in order to protect her well-being. Astrid was tough but she'd rather not fight a girl who used to head-butt her brother for fun.

"Are you sure?" Fishlegs asked, intrigued with the situation. That too surprised Astrid, considering Fishlegs wasn't normally one for gossip. "What do you think Astrid?"

"Pretty sure," Astrid responded, thinking over the clues from the past weeks. "I mean think about it. They've been going off alone with each other on a daily basis, the glances are longer and for no apparent reason, they even hug more even though they live together! Plus who knows what's going on at home."

"Well they say that your best friend can make the best partner," Fishlegs added, mostly to himself. "But why do you think they won't admit it to each other?" While the question was directed at Ruffnut she was too busy with her pasta so Astrid fielded her guess.

"Those two can be as thick as concrete walls sometimes. They probably don't know that the other is interested in them. Plus they're probably going through some internal conflicts right now. I mean do you think they've even considered that they might be gay?"

"I guess it's true that they've never really brought it up."

"Who's never brought what up?" a voice came from behind Astrid and Fishlegs, causing the pair to nearly jump out of their seats and their faces to become dusted with a light shade of pink from the embarrassment of being caught talking about them. However when they sat down across from each other at the end of the table they both had a genuine look of curiosity on their face, giving Astrid hope that they hadn't actually heard the whole conversation.

"The, uh, teachers haven't brought up when the exam schedule is going to be released," Astrid lied quickly.

"It's a little early for that, don't you think?" Hiccup asked, but before Astrid could answer Jack piped in.

"Plus I do not want to think about that yet. I mean university applications are about to start and I don't even want to think about those." Astrid took the change of subject gratefully, not allowing Hiccup the chance to catch her in her lie.

"Fair enough. So why are you guys back so early? I thought you were going to ask that question about the English assignment."

"He wasn't in the classroom," Jack supplied, resting his chin on his arm. While he was responding to Astrid, she couldn't help but notice the glances that Jack was stealing at Hiccup until he was spending more time looking at him than at her. Before she had enough time to fully analyze the situation, however, the warning bell rang and everyone in the group stood to make their way to next period.

Jack and Hiccup had lockers in the eastern wing while the rest of the group was in the main section of the building. As the boys made their way off in the other direction Astrid watched them go. She eyed them, trying to figure out exactly if her suspicions about their actions were correct. Well she was fairly certain she knew, but she wouldn't be satisfied until it was confirmed. As they passed through the doors she spotted Jack wrap an arm around Hiccup. It could have been a friendly gesture, but Hiccup looked away slightly and she smiled. Even from this distance she could see the red that was appearing on Hiccup's face and the fact that he was trying to hide it. That was the closest to any form of confirmation she could get, and while it wasn't one hundred percent she was convinced that she wouldn't get anything better in the near future. They would need to take their time before telling anyone.

...

"Teachers definitely need to explain assignments better," Jack complained as he and Hiccup walked home from school. His mind was still on the English assignment, which he was dreading already. "Or, you know, not at all and just not give them to us." Hiccup chuckled.

"Come on Jack, it's not that bad. Although I will admit what was explained and what is expected do sound entirely different."

"It's so stupid though! I mean Creative Writing is its own class, so why do we have to write an original story? If I wanted to do that I would've taken that class!"

"I don't know," Hiccup shrugged as they turned up the driveway and walked up to the garage door. It was a habit that Hiccup had gotten back into several months ago, when inspiration had struck him once more. At first Jack had wondered why Hiccup did this without getting paid, but after staying to watch him once he understood entirely. It was Hiccup's passion and he got amazingly into it, sometimes so focused that he was oblivious to the surrounding world. Now Jack even joined him, doing his homework on North's workbench when it wasn't in use. It was a flat empty surface after all. He found it oddly interesting to watch Hiccup fiddle with the little pieces to try and make them work better, or even work at all. The part Jack never told Hiccup was that he also loved how cute the boy's expression was when he worked, be it the look of determination to get something to work or the look of satisfaction when he was successful.

They stayed in the garage until dinner, Jack finishing his homework (except for that English assignment which he fully knew he would procrastinate on) and Hiccup working on his little masterpieces. Their only interruption had been Aster coming home and bugging them for a couple of minutes before going inside. It was Valka who called them in for dinner, as she usually did, and the boys gathered their things before making their way inside. The smell of roasted chicken overtook them and they both took a long, deep breath simultaneously before dropping their bags at the bottom of the stairs and making their way to the kitchen.

Dinner was the standard set of events. The boys were asked about their day at school, Aster griped about some group assignment he had and how no one was doing their work, North spoke of the events that day at the factory, Toothiana shared her funniest story of the day, and Valka caught them all up as to what had happened around the house. Sandy sadly couldn't join them that evening due to a late appointment. After dinner Toothiana and Valka cleared the dishes before loading them into the dishwasher while Jack and Hiccup retreated to their shared room.

The boys' room, over the past several months, had become their new living room of sorts. They spent as much time up there as they did in the family room on the main floor, but none of the adults (and certainly not Aster) complained. They had each other for company and they were always present to see the family at dinner or at family movie nights. They were by no means shut ins when it came to their own family.

They were on the couch playing Mario Kart once more. The video games they played together came and went in phases, but this one was always the constant. Jack supposed that it was the subtle charm of throwing turtle shells to knock your opponent out of the air that never got old. The race was neck in neck on the final lap, the points from this race determining who won the series.

As they passed the last set of item boxes before the finish line, both boys prayed for something useful. Jack's wheel stopped spinning first, landing on a banana peel. It was to be expected, considering he was technically in first when they got to the boxes. Lining himself up perfectly in front of Hiccup, or at least as well as he could with the boy swerving back and forth, he dropped the banana peel directly in front of his motorcycle which gave him no time to respond. Jack laughed, believing victory was assured as he approached the finish line. What he didn't realize, however, was that Hiccup's box had given him a single mushroom. When Jack was about two kart lengths from the finish line, Hiccup whizzed past him and claimed victory.

Jack's jaw dropped, and Hiccup jumped up in celebration. After letting out a whoop he returned to the couch where he watched both his character on top of the platform on the television and a still slack jawed Jack.

"You cheated!" Jack claimed, dropping his remote with a huff.

"Aww, is poor baby boo upset he lost?" Hiccup mocked, bumping his shoulder into Jack's.

"I demand a rematch!" Jack screamed, picking up his remote once more and starting to set up the new tournament. Jack's scream was the final straw for Toothless, who then jumped down from the back of the couch and left the room in favour of quieter surroundings.

"Nah, I think I'll retire on top tonight," Hiccup smirked, resting his controller on the floor. "Now if you'll excuse me, the winner wants a snack."

"Oh no you don't! Get back here and race me," Jack said as he grabbed Hiccup and pulled him back onto the couch. Hiccup tried to escape but Jack moved and rested on top of him, blocking any movement the brunet could hope to make.

"Nope," Hiccup denied once more with a jokingly mischievous smile.

"Don't make me take drastic measures."

"You wouldn't dare." Jack's hands immediately flew to Hiccup's ticklish spots, and Hiccup became a helpless pile of laughter.

"Ja-Jack! Stop!" Hiccup attempted to say through all of the laughter, but Jack had no intention of giving up just yet. He had learned of Hiccup's ticklish spots during a game of truth and dare between them, Astrid, and Ruffnut a few months back, and Jack never understood why Hiccup would willing reveal such compromising and useful information. But nonetheless it had worked to his advantage a couple of times before.

"Never!" Jack responded maniacally. Hiccup could barely breathe between the fits of laughter, only encouraging Jack to work harder.

"Would you two knock it off? I'm trying to do homework," a voice came from the bedroom door, causing Jack to jump up instantly and Hiccup to stop laughing. Glancing over they discovered Aster standing there with his arms crossed. The sight wasn't abnormal given he normally stopped by their room to laugh at them or crack a joke at their expense, but this time there was an unimpressed look on his face.

"It's not what it looks like," Jack spurted automatically in defence. He noticed Hiccup becoming slightly pink around his cheeks as well, but he didn't dwell on it too long.

"Oh please, don't give me that."

"Give you what?"

"Come on, you two are so obviously hiding feelings for each other it's sickening. Have you two not even noticed your own behaviour at dinners or movie nights? Heck I see it practically every time I'm in this doorway." The two immediately looked at each other and then almost immediately looked away, which was more than enough of an answer for each of them. How had Aster noticed but not them? "I don't care what you two do and I'm not going to spread it around, but just remember I'm on the opposite side of the wall and I don't need to hear anything, alright?" If the boys were pink before, now they were scarlet red. Aster left without another word and a few seconds later Hiccup left as well, saying that he was going for that snack so quickly it was barely understandable.

...

Hiccup didn't return to the room for a while, and after an hour Jack was pretty sure he wasn't just getting a snack down there. If he knew Hiccup he knew the boy was in the garage, tinkering with something to try and distract himself from the present situation. Jack had no problem with the alone time at the moment however; it allowed him to think over the whole situation and what he would want to say when Hiccup returned.

It was past ten at night when Hiccup returned to the room, and Jack was already lying under the covers of his bed. He was starting to worry that he would fall asleep before Hiccup returned, but the sound of the opening door gave him a burst of nervous energy. He heard Hiccup retreat into his own closet and emerge a minute later, changed into his pajamas. He waited until he was in his bed before he spoke up.

"Hey Hic? I think we should talk," Jack started, but even that took a lot of his power to say. He had no idea how he was going to get through the whole conversation. After a few seconds of complete silence he started to wonder if he would even have to, but Hiccup finally spoke up.

"You're-you're probably right." His silence after the statement beckoned Jack to continue.

"So, was Aster right? Do you really have feelings for me?"

"Yes, it's true. And I'm really sorry but…" Hiccup started, and Jack could practically hear the nerves in his voice. Hiccup was speaking quickly, meaning he was telling the truth but trying to explain himself before Jack could react. He interrupted to put Hiccup at ease.

"Don't apologize; feelings are feelings. He was right about me too you know."

There was a momentary silence. "Really?"

"Yup. I just can't believe that Aster saw it before either of us."

"Well at least I'm not alone," Hiccup said, a small smile of relief invisible to Jack through the darkness gracing his face. "But what do we do now?"

"We're in an odd predicament. I mean we're best friends, we share a bedroom, heck we're practically brothers."

"But we're not," Hiccup pointed out before he had the chance to think about what he had just said. It made him realize that just maybe, deep down, he really wanted this to work out. He wanted Jack to say yes.

"That's true." Jack had thought long and hard over the past few hours about what he was about to say, but as he was about to say it his nerves stopped him. Steeling himself he spat it out before he could think about it any further. "I'm willing to give it a try if you are." Jack braced himself for what was to come, physically tensing up from the stress, but he became more curious than anything when he heard Hiccup sit up in his bed.

"Really? Because, well, I, maybe, kind of, wouldn't mind either," Hiccup said awkwardly, and Jack had to mix in a laugh half from happiness and half from relief that Hiccup hadn't freaked out at him at any point during this conversation.

"Alright then. So we're going to do this. But Hiccup promise me something."

"What's that?"

"Should something go wrong at any point, we can reset to this moment in time and just go back to being friends."

"Deal." This time instead of hearing the nerves in Hiccup's voice Jack only heard the smile. He smiled too until Hiccup asked a question that Jack hadn't considered. "So Jack, does this technically make us gay?" Jack took a moment to think on it before answering, not wanting to answer such a loaded question too hastily.

"Well, that depends. Have you ever been attracted to other men in general?"

There was a pause before Hiccup responded, "I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"What about women?"

Another pause before, "No, I suppose not. I've never really thought about it, but I've never really been attracted to anyone before. Jack, where are you going with this?"

"Well are you familiar with the term 'demisexuality'?" Jack inwardly smiled; his numerous hours on Tumblr were finally paying off.

"I think I see where you're going with this. It's a possibility I suppose. What about you?"

"I'm not sure. I guess that's something I'll have to come to terms with on my own. To be honest I've never had feelings for anyone either. I had started to think I was asexual or something. But while we're working this out, maybe we keep this from the others. Alright?"

"Agreed," Hiccup concurred. Neither boy said anything after that point, instead running through the past few moments of conversation in their head over and over again. They didn't know what time they fell asleep, but by that time their minds were considerably more at ease than they had been most of that night.

 **...**

 **What, it's not like Aster was going to just sit around and watch these two be oblivious dorks. It was starting to get painful for him XD**


	17. Chapter 17

It had been three days. Three days and absolutely no change whatsoever. Sure the boys had had their conversation on the matter, but nothing had really changed in their relationship. Hiccup supposed Jack was having the same problem he was, which was truly dating his best friend. Sure they had agreed that if anything had gone wrong they would 'reset' back to that night and simply be friends once more, but that did little to break down the barrier that currently sat between them. Hiccup kind of wanted to get the ball rolling, but Jack seemed to have become even more secluded when it came to bringing up the topic and he had no idea what to do.

"What's wrong Hiccup?" Astrid asked as she sat down across the table from him.

"Nothing," Hiccup lied, but even he knew that Astrid would be able to see right through that one. Her raised eyebrow was enough of an answer.

"Bull." Hiccup remembered his promise to Jack, the one where they said they wouldn't tell anyone for a while, but at this rate nothing was going to happen so the promise was irrelevant. This was the one day Hiccup and Jack had separate lunch periods, and he figured he could trust Astrid, right? He'd just try and keep it anonymous for now.

"Alright fine, but this stays strictly between us," Hiccup said, lowering his voice to almost a whisper. It was entirely unnecessary considering the amount of ambient noise provided by the scores of students surrounding them, plus Astrid had to lean in closer to be able to hear, but it put Hiccup a little more at ease to talk about it. "What would you do if you started dating someone, but then the relationship kind of went stagnant after it went official? I mean like, you know, the dynamic changed and things became slightly awkward. I ask because, you know, well a friend..."

"You and Jack finally spoke about it, didn't you?" Astrid interrupted in order to cease Hiccup's babbling and to help him just spit it out. She knew she was taking a shot in the dark in reality but she was fairly certain of her guess.

Hiccup went slack jawed for a split second before he regained his composure. "How did you know?"

"Part observation and part guess," Astrid explained. "You two have been acting a little off over the past little while, and I'm not just talking about this past week. It was pretty clear to most people."

"Oh great, life hates me," Hiccup droned, unable to accept the fact that everyone could see the pair's feelings for each other except themselves. Just how many people had figured it out by this point? How many people had guessed the truth before Hiccup and Jack even knew?

"No, you two are just a little too close for just friends. But enough about that, because I'm pretty sure that telling me was not what was worrying you."

"Well, ok. So a few days ago we agreed to make it semi-official. We weren't going to tell anyone at first, but I really need some advice here."

"My lips are sealed. Shoot."

"Well, first of all, do you think that this is even a good idea?"

"Well, it can be awkward dating a friend," Astrid conceded, "But look at it this way. You already know each other. You know your likes and dislikes. You save all the time you would normally need to learn that about a person. Plus you already live together so it wouldn't be hard to make time to see each other. You just have to be careful in case things go wrong so it doesn't get awkward. But seeing you two together I don't think that that will be a problem," Astrid assured with a smile, easing Hiccup's nerves about the whole situation slightly. "Anything else?"

"Well, since we agreed to start, you know, nothing has happened. If anything we've gone backwards and things have started to come more and more awkward between the two of us. If this keeps up I'm not sure what will happen and I don't want to ruin the relationship I have with Jack, even if it is just a friendship."

"Ok so when did it become official."

"Three days ago."

"And what have you done together since then?" Hiccup opened his mouth to answer but before he could make a sound Astrid added, "And I don't mean the stuff you two did together before. So no, video games don't count."

Hiccup paused, and he realized that the answer was nothing. They hadn't done anything different since they had become a 'couple'. But could that really be what was wrong?

"You two are trying to change the dynamic of your relationship without changing anything. Of course that's going to make it awkward. You have to try some new things. Go on an official date or something!"

Hiccup took a moment to consider the advice before realizing that she may actually have a point. He nodded in agreement before picking up his tray and starting to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Astrid asked, confused as to why he would be leaving lunch so early.

"I've got to go plan something for tonight! Thanks again Astrid!" Astrid just shook her head and laughed internally to herself. She too picked up her tray, throwing it into the return pile on the garbage can. If she was going to be alone for lunch period, she was at least going to head to the gym to make use of the time.

...

After school the boys walked home together as they always did, but this time was different. This time, Hiccup held Jack's hand as they walked down the street. Fishlegs had said nothing, which to Hiccup indicated that either Astrid had spilled the beans to Fishlegs (and he was the only person he wouldn't get mad at her for) or that he too had been expecting this all along. It made Hiccup wonder again just how obvious they had been. They said their farewells at their respective cross streets and as they turned onto their own, Jack dropped Hiccup's hand. While sad for the loss of warmth and personal connection, it did prompt Hiccup to bring up what he had wanted to mention for the last little while.

"Let's go out tonight?"

"Hm?" Jack asked, semi confused at the statement.

"You know, like on a date. We haven't done that yet. Come on, Finding Dory is playing at the theatre and I know how much you've wanted to see that," Hiccup tempted, aiming right for Jack's love of animation. It was another characteristic they shared, making the selection of the film quite obvious to Hiccup.

"You know me too well," Jack joked before asking, "Alright, let's do it. When's show time?"

"8:30 is the best one I think. It'll give us time to eat dinner and then get there."

"8:30 it is then," Jack said as they turned up the driveway, headed for the garage as per usual. Hiccup smiled and Jack smiled back, and neither boy noticed the other quickly glance down at their lips. As they entered the garage Hiccup followed his normal routine, but Jack's was slightly different. He got his books out but he actually didn't have any homework for that night. Instead he made it look like he was reading, but in reality he was watching Hiccup's cute expressions the whole time.

...

"Have fun at the movie boys!" Toothiana said as she gave Hiccup the keys to her car as well as some money for tickets and food. Hiccup was the only one of the two who had bothered to get his licence yet, and Jack had no problem with that. It just meant that he got to have Hiccup chauffeur him around in Toothiana's Acura. As they stepped into the black sedan Hiccup turned the key and the engine roared to life. Jack checked that he still had his wallet and cell phone.

They pulled out of the driveway and almost instantly Jack had turned the radio on. They almost always had fights over which station to listen to, seeing as Hiccup liked electronica and Jack was more into, well, almost anything with words, but today Hiccup didn't put up any form of argument when Jack turned it to the local rock station. Hiccup had explained once before that he liked the electronica music because it was generally wordless so it was good while he worked, plus it was a little more upbeat than classical, however Jack couldn't understand it or learn to like it no matter how hard he had tried. Eventually he stopped even bothering.

The ride to the theatre was mostly silent, but the gap in conversation had been filled with the beats of various songs on the radio and the banter of the hosts, so it wasn't really awkward for either of the boys. Hiccup pulled into a parking spot at about 8:10 giving them plenty of time to get inside, get their tickets and food, and get a good seat in the theatre. As the show time got closer both boys simultaneously got more excited and more nervous, wondering if something would happen inside the dark cinema. Both boys wanted something to happen, but neither really had a plan of action going in.

They bought their tickets from one of the automatic ticket machines to avoid the ticket line, but they were stuck when it came to popcorn. They lined up between two other couples and looked up at the board in unison.

"So, what do you want?" Jack asked, his eyes never leaving the images of too-yellow-to-be-real popcorn flashing across the screen along with the theatre's astronomical prices.

"Hm?" Hiccup asked, looking over at Jack and for some reason unfathomable to Jack looking confused at the statement.

"Food, Hic. What do you want to eat?"

"Oh, I think I'm just going to get a Sprite and some Skittles." They stepped forward as the first couple in line paid and left with their food, making them next in line. "You?"

"I want popcorn personally," Jack said as he noticed the people in front of them leave. He stepped forward and placed the order for the both of them.

"Hi a large Sprite large Fruitopia a bag of skittles and a large popcorn please," Jack said, watching the girl behind the counter punch in every item at a rapid pace. She nodded and quickly gathered the order, showing just how she had managed to keep the line moving so quickly. Hiccup handed over the remaining money that had been given and they walked away, snacks in hand. With his free hand Jack grabbed Hiccup's which caused the boy to look away slightly, but Jack could see the beginnings of a smile pulling at the side of his lips.

"Jack, let me go or we'll get a weird look from the ticket guy," Hiccup whispered after a moment, trying to pull his hand away. Jack, however, held on even tighter.

"So? Who cares? Are you saying you're embarrassed to be seen in public with me?" Jack asked, feigning insult. Hiccup laughed slightly and by the time he recovered they were already at the ticket person. Hiccup handed over the tickets and they received direction to the auditorium, and Hiccup was pleased to discover the guy didn't even really seem to care that they were holding hands. "Told you," Jack whispered as they walked past the man and up the stairs to the theatre.

As they made their way down the long hallway to the theatres at the back, Hiccup realized something: Jack's attitude towards this was changing. He was actually starting to make this feel like more of a date than just the two of them hanging out. Perhaps Astrid had had a point.

It was only five minutes until show time, yet it appeared that they would be the only two people present for the showing. It wasn't surprising considering it was the middle of the week, but it was like a little added bonus for both boys considering this was their first time on a real date. Plus it allowed them to talk as much as they wanted.

"You have excellent taste in movies," Jack cracked as he shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth. Hiccup shook his head at Jack as a few kernels spilled onto his lap and took a few pieces of buttery popped deliciousness for himself.

"I'll have you know I picked this movie solely for you in an act of pure selflessness," Hiccup said, his voice dripping in more sarcasm than the popcorn in butter. "I had no desire to see this particular feature." Instead of responding, Jack proceeded to throw popcorn at Hiccup, hitting him square in the face. Hiccup laughed and threw a few back, many of which Jack managed to catch in his mouth with a pleased smirk.

They chit chatted until the opening credits began, at which point they sunk into their seats. Hiccup looked back down when he felt Jack's hand slide into his own, and he smiled and leaned a little closer to his white haired date. While they had the theatre to themselves they remained silent throughout the film, too invested in the storyline to ask questions let alone start a conversation. Hiccup did notice Jack stealing the occasional glance at him however. As the ending credits rolled they finally released hands, yet neither boy stood up. Jack kept his stare and Hiccup gave him an inquisitive look.

"Hiccup, there's something I've wanted to do all night," Jack started, but he stopped in what, to Hiccup, sounded like the middle of the sentence.

"What's that?" Hiccup asked, his head leaning slightly to the side. Jack couldn't foresee a better opportunity, so he leaned in and took it.

Jack pressed his lips to Hiccup's, who instantly pressed back. Jack wasn't sure how he had expected Hiccup to respond, but this was definitely a pleasant surprise. He decided to see if he could take it a bit further, moving his lips slightly. Hiccup moved his as well, and their lips moulded perfectly. He tasted sweet like Skittles and salty like the little bit of popcorn he'd had. Jack could feel Hiccup's breaths becoming more frequent and shorter, so he brought a hand up to the side of his face to calm him. He would be lying if he had said his own heart wasn't pounding a little as well. Jack was even considering adding a little bit of tongue when they both stopped.

They pulled apart disappointingly soon when they heard giggling in the room, both boys turning a brilliant shade of red at being caught making out in the auditorium. Looking around they spotted none other than Jamie and Sophie Bennett kneeling backwards on their chairs two rows in front of them.

"Jack likes Hiccup, Hiccup likes Jack," Sophie chanted as she giggled.

"Jamie? Sophie? Where's your mom?" Jack asked, wondering just how the pair had gotten there.

"She went to the bathroom just as the credits started. She told us to stay here since she saw you two sitting behind us.

"Wait, when did you even get here?"

"We've been here the whole time!" Sophie announced, making the boys wonder how in the world they hadn't noticed them in the movie theatre.

"I wonder if they both have cooties now," Jamie whispered loudly enough for the boys to hear, and it inspired another round of giggles between the younger pair.

"Wait, who had cooties before?" Hiccup asked, but he got no answer as Mrs. Bennett returned to the auditorium.

"Oh hi boys. I hope these two didn't disturb your date," she said, walking up to her kids. The previous shade of red returned to both Jack and Hiccup.

"How-how did you know…" Jack stumbled, and to Hiccup it was an interesting turn of events to see Jack as the one stuttering in this situation.

"Oh, am I not supposed to know? Sorry!" she apologized. She led her children out of the theatre without another word while Jack and Hiccup remained, dumbstruck.

"How did she…" both boys wondered aloud at the same time, but they decided not to dwell on it. Clearly some people already knew, but maybe it was limited. Maybe only a couple of people had caught on.

As it turned out, it was harder to get the thought of other people knowing out of their head than they thought. They went to the arcade in the theatre and played a few racing games and a round of air hockey, but both of them still internally carried their concerns and it weighed on them like a sack of bricks. It wasn't until they were driving home that their concerns came out once more.

"Maybe we should tell everyone that we're, you know, dating. Like tonight," Jack said as he put down his phone from sending a text message.

"What?" Hiccup asked, both confused and concerned by the sudden idea. Granted he had been considering the same problem as well, but that was definitely not a solution he had considered.

"I mean think about it," Jack explained, his eyes never leaving the road in front of them. "They're going to find out eventually. Clearly more people than we thought had suspicions about us anyways, if they already thought we were dating or something." Hiccup noted the 'or something' but he chose to remain silent, at least for the time being. He thought that they were officially 'dating', even if it had only been one date. Did Jack not? "Don't you think it's best that we tell them before someone else does?"

Hiccup hated to admit it, but Jack had a point. A very good point at that, and Hiccup couldn't find any form of argument that could stand up to it. Sighing in defeat, he concurred. "You're right. We'll tell them when we get home."

The only sound that filled the car after that point was the gentle hum of the engine of the car and the sound of the wheels on the road. Even the radio remained off as they thought about what exactly they would say and how they would handle various situations. They sat in the car for a moment even after Hiccup had parked in the driveway and removed the key from the ignition, but as they gathered the courage they both exited the vehicle and made their way nervously up the front walk to the door. Before Hiccup had the chance to insert the house key, however, Jack stopped him.

"You know, technically this is the end of our date. How about a good night kiss?" Jack asked with a wink. Hiccup laughed silently as he shook his head.

"We both live here you know. We're both about to go inside, so really it's not goodnight yet."

"Don't you bring logic into this argument," Jack retorted, making Hiccup laugh once more. "Fine, how about a good luck kiss for whatever is about to happen?" Hiccup just wanted to get it over with so he quickly placed a chaste kiss on Jack's lips before inserting the key into the slot. Jack had no time to argue before Hiccup pulled away and the door was pushed open, granting them access into the house. They had only just shut the door behind them and started to take off their shoes when Toothiana walked up to them with Valka not too far behind.

"Hi mom," both boys greeted.

"Hi boys, how was your date?" Both boys froze, that same shade of red returning to their faces for the third time that night. Toothiana caught onto it instantly and added, "Oh, was I not supposed to know?"

"I told you not to tell the Bennetts," Valka whispered to Toothiana, but both boys picked up on it. As they walked past the women, however, neither picked up Valka finishing with, "Even if Aster said it was so obvious."

They said nothing as they made their way up to their room, both of them shaking their heads at how everyone had seemed to know even though they had tried to keep it a secret. Perhaps what they had thought to be subtle glances and touches hadn't been as subtle as they had thought.

At least this had made telling everyone easier.


	18. Chapter 18

**So this is actually going to be the last chapter before the epilogue. I've had this planned out for a while and I think it is definitely time to bring this story to a close for more than one reason. Regardless, I hope you enjoy.**

 **...**

"They're here! They're here," Hiccup all but squealed when he saw the mail come in, several envelopes with university crests on them in the stack. While Hiccup was through the roof with elation just looking at the sealed envelopes, Jack didn't understand Hiccup's enthusiasm; sure they were about to learn whether or not they got into the university programs that they had applied for, but this level of excitement seemed unwarranted. Hiccup stood there for nearly a minute simply staring at the envelopes, and Jack jokingly wondered to himself if Hiccup knew that he was allowed to open them. He counted four envelopes in Hiccup's hand, which was odd considering they had applied together and only applied to three universities each, but Jack brushed one off as a potential letter from the bank or something.

While Hiccup ripped through each envelope in record speed, Jack actually took a little more time with his. He knew he would get into at least one program, and to be honest he didn't really care which university he went to. It was all schooling after all, and it would all be boring. Seemed kind of ironic, a thought like that coming from the guy who wanted to be a teacher, but he was convinced that the class he would one day teach would be fun. Especially because it would be younger students and he was great with children. Jack was actually pleasantly surprised to find he had gotten into every program he had applied for, and Toothiana and Valka both gave him a hug from behind as they read over his shoulder.

What Jack hadn't realized was that Hiccup had ripped through the three letters from the local universities, he too being accepted to every program he had applied for, but it was the fourth letter that he had received that he was spending all of his time on. He read it slowly, carefully examining every word on the page. Valka and Toothiana watched on in anticipation, having moved on from Jack, but Jack himself was still confused. What was this letter? Why did they seem to know about it but not him? What was going on?

When Hiccup finally read the word "accepted", he nearly fell over from excitement. He grabbed on to the table to steady himself and looked down at the prosthetic that had almost prevented him from catching himself as he laughed. Valka and Toothiana joined in the celebration as well, offering Hiccup two large hugs simultaneously, and it caused Hiccup to drop the letter. Jack caught it just before it hit the ground and looked up at Hiccup before looking down at the letter.

It was a university letter, there was no doubt about that. It read like one and looked like one, and upon further inspection Jack spotted the Cambridge University logo in the top left. Jack needed a moment to think, but he recalled that Cambridge was a university over in England. But why would they be sending a letter to Hiccup, and why was he expecting it? The letter went on about how impressed they were with his application and apparent dedication to the field, and that they were delighted to accept him into their program with a partial scholarship. It took Jack a moment to realize the gravity of the situation, and he felt safe in his assumption considering that Hiccup was this happy. He was laughing like he only did when he was truly happy, and Jack knew that laugh very well.

"You're going to school in England?" Jack asked, his voice deadly level. Hiccup's laughing came to an almost instant stop, and their moms seemed to catch on to the situation almost as quickly. They shared a look before leaving the two alone in the dining room together, surrounded only by the remaining envelopes that were addressed to the rest of the family.

"Jack, I…" Hiccup started, but he couldn't finish. Not only because he was unsure how to tell Jack that he had applied without telling him to a school overseas with full intention to go there if he got in, but also because Jack interrupted him in his unnervingly steady voice.

"Well congrats. I hope you have a fun time there." Jack set the paper back down on the table and walked out of the room, headed for the stairs. Valka and Toothiana re-entered the room as they saw Jack leave, but before they could say anything Hiccup was after him. They shook their heads and exchanged worried looks. They were best friends, boyfriends still going strong, and they were closer now than they had ever been before. Both women sincerely hoped that this wouldn't break them apart.

"Jack, wait!" Hiccup called as he took the stairs two at a time. Jack had either burst into a run or Hiccup was slower than he thought, because even at the top of the stairs the only thing he saw was their bedroom door slam shut. Hiccup approached slowly, knocking on the closed door when he got to it. "Jack? Can I come in?"

"It's your room, isn't it?" came Jack's reply. Hiccup could hear and even feel the poison coating Jack's words, but he couldn't let it faze him. At least not now when he needed a level head the most.

"Well yes, it is our room but, well, you know," Hiccup trailed off as he closed the door behind him slowly, almost fearing the small click the door would make. Jack wasn't looking at Hiccup, but rather out the window in the exact opposite direction. He sat down on his own bed, about 3 metres away from Jack, and still Jack refused to look at him. "We should probably talk about this."

"What's there to talk about?" Jack asked, his eyes never leaving the landscape just beyond the panel of glass. "You're going to go to school in England. You'll be five time zones away, and I'll be here. Seems pretty straight forward to me."

"Jack I know you're upset I didn't tell you…"

"Damn right I'm upset!" Jack exploded, startling Hiccup back a little bit. His gaze did turn to the brunet finally, but Hiccup was no longer sure that was a good thing; Jack's stare had never felt this cold and icy before, and now Hiccup just wanted out of it. "Did you not think I deserved to know Hiccup? What about this?" Jack demanded, pointing back and forth between the two of them. "What about us?"

"What about us?" Hiccup asked right back. "Nothing has to change just because I'm moving for a few years. Plus I'll be back in between."

"Oh don't give me that," Jack accused, shaking his head. "You say that but you know how things like this always work. We drift apart, we get bored, and one person finally says that we should 'see other people'. Do you have any idea how hard this is for me? Not just the fact that I'm losing you, but the fact that you couldn't even tell me?" Jack's voice was going back and forth between yelling and perfectly level as he spoke, unable to control his volume any longer.

"Jack, you're upsetting me," Hiccup whispered, fighting back the few tears that were starting to form in the corner of his eyes and the tightness that was grasping his throat and refusing to let go.

"Well it's about time you felt how I felt!" Jack yelled, and Hiccup was sure that everyone downstairs could hear this. They would have some serious explaining to do later. "You're life has always been perfect. Do you have any idea how often life has upset me, and now you have to go and do it too?"

"You don't think I've been upset too in my life? You really think my life is perfect?" Hiccup demanded to know, his voice elevating to the point of yelling as well by this point. He had given up on keeping his volume down; they were going to have to explain later anyways.

"It's been a lot better than mine," Jack exclaimed, standing up and walking towards his closet.

"Well at least you got to meet your biological father," Hiccup screamed almost at the top of his lungs, right before his throat entirely closed up for a second. Jack said nothing, stopping dead in his tracks and turning to face Hiccup, but before he could say anything Hiccup regained control of his airways and voice. "You don't think that's upset me for the past year? The thought of that constantly popping up? I've just kept it down. It upsets me every time I see North, knowing that while he is the man that raised me, I'll never know the man responsible for my birth. You wouldn't even understand because you had the chance to know both of them. But not me." Hiccup took a few deep breaths before he continued, his voice at a regular volume once more. "If you think my life is perfect, that I don't have any reason to be upset, you couldn't be further from the truth." Hiccup walked to the bedroom door and proceeded into the hallway, slamming the door behind him.

...

"We'll be back in a week," Toothiana promised as Valka and Hiccup brought their bags to the car. Toothiana gave Jack a hug before asking, "Are you sure you don't want to come? We might be able to get you a ticket at the airport and adding you to the hotel room is no problem."

"No, that's fine. Thanks though," Jack said. Somehow he felt like that was a lie; nothing in his life was fine right now. He and Hiccup hadn't even spoken in the last three days. They had been avoiding each other like the plague, creating concern among their school friends, and now Hiccup was off to tour the campus in England without him. Although in reality the last one had been his fault he didn't want to think about it that way. His thoughts were interrupted when Aster walked up behind him as the car drove off.

"You should've gone mate," Aster said, watching as the taxi turned the corner at the end of the street.

"No I really…"

"Yes, you should have," Aster asserted in a voice that just told you there was no room for arguing. "If you really love him, you need to support him through this. You think him going to England is tearing you apart, but you're wrong. It's your anger and jealousy that's doing it." Aster walked away before Jack could say anything, leaving Jack to stew on the words he had just heard.

...

Butterflies flew in Hiccup's stomach as the cab turned the corner. He had been looking backwards the whole time and he had seen Aster come out and speak to Jack. He could only wonder what was said. He couldn't text Aster since his phone remained at home to avoid roaming charges and he couldn't read the lips of his Australian accented half-brother. While Toothiana had taken the passenger seat in the cab, Valka noticed Hiccup's glances and decided to speak up.

"Hiccup, sweetie, how have things been between the two of you?"

"You mean it isn't obvious?" Hiccup sighed.

"You know what I mean," Valka scolded at the sarcasm. Her voice remained gentle, however, not wanting to upset the boy further. "Have things been getting any better?"

"Not really. We haven't even really spoken in days. It's just, I mean, I really want this, but at the same time I feel bad now for potentially leaving Jack. And I didn't even give him any warning. I'm starting to wonder if I even want this anymore, or if it's just the gravity of the situation getting to me."

"Well it's late," Valka pointed out, yawning as if for effect. "Sleep on the plane and we'll be in England in the morning. Maybe by then you'll come up with an idea." Hiccup was doubtful, but for the entirety of the cab ride, the security checkpoint, and the eight hour flight, he was silent.

...

The flight arrived in England at nearly ten in the morning, and Hiccup felt like he was ready to take on the day. His guided tour of the campus wasn't until the next day, but today he would be taking the chance to explore the campus on his own and see what he wanted to learn more about.

They managed to check into the hotel early, and the first thing Hiccup did was check his email. He saw one from Fishlegs and one from Astrid, both of which he had been expecting as he had told them about this excursion a few days prior. Unlike Jack they had taken it quite well, both appearing rather excited for the teen and saying that they expected to be able to come and visit if he was going to be over there for four years. It was when he saw an email from Jack, however, that he took a moment to pause.

The subject line was blank, leaving Hiccup to wonder about the contents of the message. It had been sent not too long after they had left the house, and Hiccup found that he was having a hard time gathering the courage to open the electronic message. When he looked around and discovered that Toothiana and Valka were still unpacking and admiring the view that they had, he quickly pushed his fears aside and opened the email. He skimmed it extremely quickly the first time, hunting for any key words about Jack's mood on this whole situation before he read it again.

 _Hic,_

 _I've been an ass these past few days and I'm sorry. You deserve this, and if it's what you really want then I won't stop you. If you want, we can make it work. I'll miss you but knowing you're happy is all I need. I'll let you get back to England now._

It was short and to the point, however the emotion hit Hiccup like a tidal wave. He was happy that Jack was finally willing to accept him doing this, but sad that he would indeed be leaving Jack behind if he did so. He was excited that he could give this university and this country a fair chance, but nervous that he wouldn't like it and then all of this would be for nothing. He didn't have a chance to respond before the trio were ready to take off for the day, and Hiccup closed the lid to the laptop before leaving the hotel room.

They walked all through downtown Cambridge, exploring the town as they went. Valka and Toothiana were definitely more into the tourist aspect of the town while Hiccup was simply itching to get to the university. When he finally got their blessing to head off on his own Hiccup was more than happy to dart off and go explore.

Hiccup admired the older buildings mixed in with the modern ones, as well as the grounds upon which the university rested. For Hiccup it was love at first sight, which to him was both a blessing and a curse. He found the engineering department and took a quick peek inside, not bothering anyone as he would have his official tour the next day anyways. As he meandered through campus he listened in on a few conversations, hoping to pick up a few things about the university. Nothing really caught his attention until he was walking in front of an unlabeled building and two people that looked like admin staff were speaking out front.

"Yeah they extended the deadline to apply again," the larger woman said to the skinnier one with a lighter complexion. They both had short brown hair and were drinking out of disposable cups that had a logo Hiccup had never seen before.

"Again? Well I guess when they decide to introduce a program so late they are likely to not get many applicants the first year. I mean no one has ever heard of it, and not many people think of us when it comes to teaching." At the sound of the word teaching Hiccup especially perked up, resting behind a tree to hopefully make it seem like he wasn't really listening to their conversation.

"Well the program is accredited in most of the commonwealth. I don't know how considering standards can be so different. I told the director she should've just waited until next year."

"I don't question these things. But clearly getting that accreditation took them too long and there are only a few applicants now for the first year. At this rate they'll extend applications until the semester starts!"

"No, they can't do that. They've agreed that the final deadline is in a week, and that they are going to ramp up awareness campaigns over the next couple of days." Hiccup had zoned out part way though that last sentence, the gears in his head already turning. He knew he needed to act quickly, and he really hoped that Jack hadn't changed the password to his cloud service in the past week. Hiccup knew his plan was either going to work extremely well or come crashing down on him.

...

As much as Jack wanted to be there to pick Hiccup up from the airport when he landed, there wouldn't have been enough room in Aster's car for him as well as Hiccup, Toothiana, Valka, and all of their bags. Instead he remained in the living room, watching television impatiently and not really paying attention to the flashing images on the screen. When he heard the car doors slam he jumped out of his seat and raced to the front door.

He saw the group approaching through the frosted glass and opened the door so they wouldn't need to get out a key. Valka and Toothiana groaned out a quick thank you before immediately heading upstairs, looking more than just a little jet lagged. Aster came in next carrying more bags and bringing them upstairs without a word. Finally Hiccup came in, carrying his only bag and smiling like he hadn't just been on an eight hour flight across five time zones. They both remained silent for a moment, simply taking in the look of the other, before Jack finally broke the silence.

"Hiccup, I was stupid. I'm so sorry," Jack said as he wrapped his boyfriend in a hug.

"Jack, it's alright," Hiccup said, dropping his bag to wrap around his arms around Jack. A quick peck and he added, "I shouldn't have just dropped this on you either."

"So, how did you like it?" Jack asked, releasing Hiccup from his embrace and grabbing his bag. He started to take it upstairs and Hiccup followed, grabbing onto the bannister as he climbed. Clearly the flight and time change had gotten to him more than he was letting on.

"It was great! The city was beautiful and the campus was amazing. They showed me the classrooms and the labs and I even got to meet a couple of the professors. The program sounds even more interesting than it did on paper."

"It sounds like you really love it," Jack said, forcing a smile. "So you're going to go, right?"

"Jack, I couldn't do that to you…" Hiccup started, and as much as Jack didn't want to, he interrupted.

"Yes, you can. This is what you want and I don't want to keep you from being happy."

"Being with you makes me happy."

"Yes but so does this program. We can make it work." Jack said as he placed Hiccup's bag on his bed.

"What if I told you we wouldn't have to?" Hiccup asked with a knowing smile that threw Jack off slightly.

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked, but Hiccup never responded. He simply laughed to himself with a knowing smile.

Jack was about to press further but he didn't get to chance as a booming voice from downstairs yelled, "MAIL CALL!"

The boys made their way downstairs, Jack still prodding and Hiccup remaining silent with that smug, knowing smile that Jack hated so much at the moment. The usual mail was passed around, some going to Hiccup, some going to Aster, some going to Sandy, Valka's and Toothiana's set aside since they had failed to attend the mail call, and some for Jack. As Jack sifted through the envelopes bearing his name he recognized all of them, except for one. It bore the Cambridge University logo and it made him give a sideways look to Hiccup, who was still smiling. He opened it quickly, skimming the contents of the contained letter.

"Dear Jack," Jack read aloud, even though Hiccup clearly knew what was going on and no one else was paying any attention. "We would like to thank you for your interest in Cambridge University's new Bachelor of Education degree. As a new degree recognized internationally, we believe its graduates will quickly be in high demand. We would like to offer you a place in this up and coming program's inaugural class, commencing this September."

"I know I should have told you what I was doing first and I'm sorry I gave them all your information without asking and I get it if you're not interested but I just thought why not and…" Hiccup started, speaking a mile a minute, but Jack finally managed to interrupt him.

"Hiccup! Shush," Jack laughed while gently shaking his head. "Thank you for thinking about me. This is amazing! I can't believe you pulled this off."

"Yeah, well, I'm incredible, I know," Hiccup said with faux confidence, which Jack quickly put an end to by pushing him down onto a chair. "But is everyone ok…"

"I've cleared everything with the entire family," Hiccup interrupted before Jack could get too far into doubting it. "The only decision left to be made is yours. So, are you interested in coming to school in England?"

"Well, let's go online and find out," Jack smiled, leading Hiccup back upstairs to do some research.


	19. Epilogue

**Alright everyone, at long last, here it is. I'll save the big A/N for the very end. Enjoy!**

 **...**

 **FOUR MONTHS LATER**

Many tears were shed by all of the adults as the boys loaded the last of their bags into the trunk of their taxi, the driver waiting patiently to take them to the airport. Today they would finally be off to England for the start of the semester, settling in just a week before classes were set to start. They received their fifth round of hugs from the adults while Aster just laughed in the background, as he had been doing the whole time.

"Finally I'll get some peace and bloody quiet around here!" He had been celebrating for almost a week, but little did he know that the boys had left one last surprise for him for after they were well on their way.

"Be sure to Skype us right away when you get there, and make sure that you don't get lost. Don't be afraid to ask for directions if something goes wrong. Do you have the address of the apartment? And don't forget the country code in case you have to call home. And you can call any time we'll cover all the phone charges and…" Toothiana was going on in a single breath, only stopping to breathe when Valka finally interrupted her.

"I think they get the point Toothiana. Now boys, we're so proud of you. We hope you have a great time in England, but remember you are there to study first alright?" When both boys nodded with a smile, she added, "And make sure you let Toothless out of his carrier as soon as you get there. Poor thing is going to be cooped up for hours." Toothless meowed in agreement, but Hiccup knew better.

"Oh please, Toothless will probably end up sleeping most of the way anyways. It'll be like nothing even happened."

North laughed at the comment and wrapped both boys in his fifth hug as well, nearly crushing them and making them feel like he was completing to break each boy's spine. "We are proud indeed boys. Now go, we don't want you to miss flight!" The boys nodded and headed towards the cab, rolling down the windows and calling out goodbyes one last time.

Neither boy said anything on the entire drive to the airport; rather they took the time to individually enjoy the scenery of their hometown one last time before they would be whisked away to another continent. It would be at least four months before they would get to see any of this again and they wanted to remember everything from the manicured lawns to the congested eighteen lanes of expressway as they approached the airport. They pulled up to the departures terminal faster than they would have liked, but they knew they couldn't fight it any longer, nor did they want to.

"Hey guys!" a call came from down the sidewalk, and a glance in the general direction revealed Astrid, Fishlegs, and Ruffnut walking their way. While the girls had nothing in their hands, Fishlegs was carrying two bags packed with belongings.

"Hey!" the boys greeted in unison, smiling at their friends.

"So, Fishlegs, excited for Vancouver?" Hiccup asked as Jack paid the taxi driver when all of their bags had been taken out of the trunk and Toothless' carrier had been taken out of the back seat. Sure enough the feline was sound asleep.

"You have no idea," Fishlegs smiled.

"Well guys, we're parked illegally, so we'll have to make this quick," Astrid said as she jingled her keys. "High school, this summer, and last night were a blast, and I can't wait to see you in a few months for Christmas."

"Especially if we get to have another night like last night," Ruffnut cackled, and the group laughed at the memory. They had gone out to dinner and a movie as one last hoorah before Jack and Hiccup left for Cambrige and Fishlegs left for British Columbia, but as if from a comedy everything had gone wrong. The waitress had slipped and dropped all of their food onto Fishlegs (who had been less than pleased but at least all of their meals had been complementary after that), and the movie theatre had put the wrong film into the machine which then proceeded to melt down, so they got to see two movies instead of one all for free. It had been a night of chaos that had worked out perfectly.

One round of hugs (although Ruffnut's felt more like an attempt to crush whoever she was hugging) and goodbyes later and the girls were off while Fishlegs made his way to the shuttle to domestic departures. Hiccup and Jack made their way through the international departures hall, having to walk nearly the entire 700 metre length before finding their airline and dropping off their bags. Security on this end was a breeze for the pair, but something told them that it wouldn't be so easy on the other side even though they both had their student visas.

"So, what's the first thing you want to do when we get there?" Hiccup asked as the pair sat down on the empty seats at their gate while they awaited the boarding announcements. "Check out the flat and unpack? Shopping? Check out the campus?"

"Yes to all of the above," Jack laughed. "But more importantly, there is one last thing I want to do before I leave."

"What's that?" Hiccup asked, wondering what on Earth Jack still wanted to do. They were in the airport waiting to board; what else could even be done still?

"I want a double double and donut from Tim's." Jack stood up as he said this, making his way to the Tim Horton's outlet directly across the hall. Hiccup hadn't thought about it but that was something that he was going to miss, so he figured he might as well indulge in a fresh Apple Fritter at least one more time.

...

The boys collapsed onto their suitcases as they finished the last of the four trips it took them to bring all of their belongings up the three flights of stairs to their simple two bedroom, one bathroom flat. It would be the first time in a long time that they pair wouldn't be sharing a room and would finally have complete privacy again. They had considered sharing a one bedroom flat, but none of them had bedrooms large enough for two beds and the couple hadn't even considered discussing sharing a bed yet.

"So, should we Skype Canada?" Hiccup asked in a fake British accent as he pulled out his laptop and turned it on.

"But of course," Jack responded, putting on his own accent. Hiccup plugged in the adapter before plugging it into the wall, not wanting to cause any problems with the electricity in the building or with his electronics themselves.

Jack double checked his watch to make sure that it wasn't an ungodly hour back home. He stood up and quickly pushed the bags off to the side to at least make the place look a little neater than it actually was. At least it had come furnished so it didn't look like they had literally just arrived for the first time.

It hadn't even taken a full ring for the video call to be answered and three faces to pop up on the computer screen. The sound came delayed, but it started up after a few short seconds.

"Boys! How was the flight?"

"Was there a lot of turbulence?"

"Was there a delay?"

"Did you have a hard time finding the place?"

"Have you settled in?" Toothiana and Valka asked in rapid succession, much faster than either of the boys could comprehend let alone answer.

"Everything is fine," Hiccup assured, sounding a little more confident than either boy actually was considering they were on their own for the first time ever. "The unit is furnished with everything we need and we're just settling in. We got the key from the landlord no problem and actually we got through customs rather easily on this side. We'll probably run out and get some food after this."

"Or nap. Napping is good," Jack called as he let Toothless out of his cage. They cat took one look around at his newfound freedom before instantly finding the sunniest windowsill, lying down, and falling back asleep. Jack rolled his eyes at the cat before returning to the computer to see everyone's face. Before anyone else could say anything, however, a scream could be heard coming from the Canadian side of the line that caught everyone's attention.

"I'll kill them both!" Aster bellowed as he came thundering down the stairs, grabbing the computer from the adults and turning it so that he was the only person on screen. The boys couldn't help but laugh at his seething face, considering it was completely pink. "You two have NO IDEA how lucky you are that you're on another continent or I'd…"

"You were right," Jack laughed, interrupting Aster. "Pink really isn't his colour." Hiccup and Jack shared a laugh and a high five that their final prank and Hiccup's dye bomb had gone off so well. They weren't sure if hiding it in Aster's hair dryer would be the best idea, but clearly it had worked even better than they thought it would since it hit his face rather than just his hair. Plus there was the added bonus that they hadn't expected to see the result, only hear about it later.

"You two will pay for this when you come back in December. You mark my words!" Aster yelled as he stormed off, and when the camera turned back on the adults the boys could tell they were holding back small chuckles at the whole situation.

"Boys," Valka scolded, the first of the adults to be able to talk normally without chuckling under their breath. "That was very mean."

"You're right," Jack conceded, throwing his hands in the air. "We'll go to our rooms as punishment, we promise. In fact, we'll be in there for twenty minutes. Starting right now so you can start getting ready for work. Bye!" Jack said as he waved and closed the lid, catching the adults starting to wave back at them. When the call was officially ended the boys burst into full laughter for a moment or so before regaining their breath once more.

"Alright," Hiccup said, jumping right back into the swing of things. "Food first, then unpacking?"

"Yeah, might as well," Jack conceded as he grabbed his jacket and some money as he led the pair out the door. At least the grocery store was only a few minutes away on foot.

...

Jack collapsed onto the couch and noted that the clock on the wall read midnight when they were finally done unpacking everything. Hiccup was just making sure that the printer was set up properly before he too flopped onto the couch, his head resting in Jack's lap. Jack absentmindedly ran a hand through Hiccup's hair, and Hiccup's eyes slid closed.

"Does it finally feel like home?" Jack asked, and Hiccup immediately shook his head.

"No, that'll take a while. And I don't think it'll ever truly be the same as home," Hiccup said, his eyes opening to meet Jack's. Jack's eyes always seemed to change colour depending on the light, and for some reason today they appeared lighter than Hiccup had ever seen them before. It was an odd trait that Hiccup had never pointed out but he found it interesting.

"I suppose your right. Oh, tomorrow I need to find a place that sells hair dye. I hope they have my brand over here."

"Oh stop worrying about your hair," Hiccup laughed, sitting up to place a peck on Jack's lips. Jack would be lying if he said that he didn't want to go a little further with the kiss, but he understood that they were both too tired at the moment. When Hiccup yawned, Jack smiled.

"Bed time already?"

"I think so. Long day." Without another word the boys began their usual evening routine in their new environment. Hiccup put out food and water for Toothless (who was still asleep by some miracle of nature) before they met in the bathroom, where Jack was done first and gave Hiccup some privacy.

Three hours later, even though both boys were tired, they still lay awake in their own rooms. They both felt like something was missing, and it was Jack that made the first move.

"Hey Hic?" Jack asked, standing at the door to his boyfriend's bedroom. "You awake?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Hiccup asked, turning on the lamp so he could see more than just a silhouette at his door.

"It's, well, it's kind of lonely sleeping in there. Would you mind if we…" Jack didn't even have to finish his sentence before Hiccup lifted the blankets in invitation. He raced under the covers and wrapped his arms around the other boy, missing his presence as he slept even if he had only been trying for a few hours. He knew eventually he would get used to his own room, but for tonight, since they were far away from everything they knew and loved, he just wanted to stay close to his Hiccup.

 **END**

 **...**

 **Well everyone, here we are. Just under a year and a half after I published the first chapter this saga is finally coming to a close. It's been a wild ride but a piece of me is glad to see this finally concluded.**

 **I want to thank all the faithful readers, the thoughtful reviewers, and of course my Beta reader one more time. Ilmazzobro, I owe you one.**

 **For those of you already finding this story finished, be it a week after this is posted or in a year from now, I always appreciate a review if you're willing to leave one!**

 **I'm not one for goodbyes. They have a certain finality to them that, especially in this this scenario, doesn't seem right. So my lovely readers, I'll say until we meet again :)**


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